Introduction

Under the National Research Foundation (NRF, 한국연구재단) G-Hub Program ("Overseas Excellent Research Institution Cooperation Hub"; 해외우수연구기관 협력허브 구축사업, 2025–2030), KAIST and the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) have established the KAIST–ATNF Joint Research Centre for Low-Frequency VLBI ("KAIST-ATNF 저주파 초장기선간섭계 공동연구센터").

The centre's primary objective is to develop and deploy a low-frequency very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) station in Korea, enabling VLBI at meter wavelengths. In the long term, this initiative aims to position Korea as a key partner in SKA-Low VLBI science, engineering, and global operations.

This effort builds upon the Low-frequency Australian Megametre Baseline Demonstrator Array (LAMBDA) project, a major ATNF-led initiative designed to extend the capabilities of SKA-Low, which is currently under construction in Western Australia. LAMBDA serves as a pathfinder for establishing SKA-Low as a VLBI-ready instrument within global interferometric networks.

• PI: Junhan Kim (KAIST)

• Foreign PI: Tessa Vernstrom (CSIRO/University of Western Australia)

• Co-Is: Bong Won Sohn (KASI), Kyungjin Ahn (Chosun University), Se-Heon Oh & Jeff Hodgson (Sejong University)

News

• 2026/02 - Junhan Kim, Eunchan Lee, and Jiwon Jang visited KASI for the inaugural KASI–KAIST SKA-VLBI Meeting with Bong Won Sohn's group, including Min-Ji Kim and Sieun Go, to strengthen collaboration toward the SKA-VLBI initiative within the KAIST–ATNF G-HUB Program.

• 2026/02 - The KAIST–ATNF Joint Research Center for Low-Frequency VLBI, together with the Korea-Australia partnership within the LAMBDA project, was introduced during the Asian-Pacific SKA Science Meeting 2026 through Tessa Vernstrom’s presentation, "Demonstrating Low-Frequency VLBI in the Southern Hemisphere for SKA-Low".

• 2025/11 - Junhan Kim, Bong Won Sohn, Jeff Hodgson, Cormac Reynolds, and Chris Phillips held a discussion during the 16th East Asian VLBI Workshop 2025 (EAVW 2025).

• 2025/10 - Junhan Kim visited the CSIRO Radiophysics Laboratory (Marsfield) to review the current status of the LAMBDA project and to define immediate engineering goals.

• 2025/09 - The KAIST-ATNF Joint Research Center for Low-frequency VLBI (KAIST-ATNF 저주파 초장기선간섭계 공동연구센터) has been established under the KAIST College of Natural Sciences.

• 2025/07 - The project was officially approved and awarded funding through the NRF G-Hub Program.