The Los Alamos National Laboratory and Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) jointly established the Los Alamos National Laboratory-Jeonbuk National University Engineering Institute-Korea (LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute Korea), which will hold a large-scale international conference.

This international conference, to be held one year after the institute's establishment, will take place at Jinsudang from August 27 to 31 for five days under the theme "Structural Health Monitoring Technology and Advanced Composite Structural Technologies." More than 120 experts from 14 countries will participate.

The conference comprises a two-day short course (August 27–28) for researchers in the field of structural health monitoring and a three-day main conference (August 29–31) for specialist researchers.

Keynote speakers at the main conference will include Dr. Putz of BAE Systems (UK), Dr. Edward White of Boeing (U.S.), Dr. Kirins, Deputy Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Dr. Li Ming of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. An equipment exhibition by related companies will be held concurrently.

The institute, the result of a three-party cooperation among JBNU, North Jeolla Province, and Los Alamos National Laboratory (U.S.), is expected to promote international cooperation through academic exchange and the establishment of research collaboration systems via this international conference, thereby accelerating technology commercialization and the development of related industries.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a technology for detecting defects by embedding sensors within structures and using non-destructive testing, among other methods, to continuously monitor the structural condition of systems such as aircraft, space launch vehicles, wind turbines, bridges and buildings, and power plants. If commercialized within the next ten years, it is expected to substantially mitigate safety issues associated with structures using composite materials.

The conference is sponsored by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, as well as JBNU, North Jeolla Province, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Agency for Defense Development.