World's top light-measurement scientists converge on Jeju for NEWRAD 2026

KRISS hosts international conference with more than 140 experts from 30 countries

Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science President Lee Ho-seong delivers a welcome address at the opening session of NEWRAD 2026. [KRISS]

Leading global experts in optical radiation measurement — a field that underpins the reliability of cutting-edge science from climate monitoring to space exploration and quantum technology — are gathering in Jeju this week.

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) announced it is co-hosting NEWRAD 2026, an international conference on optical radiation measurement, with the Korean National Committee of the International Commission on Illumination, from Monday through Thursday at the KAL Hotel in Seogwipo, Jeju.

NEWRAD is an international academic conference where researchers share the latest findings and applied technologies in optical radiation measurement — the precise measurement of the intensity and spectral characteristics of light across ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths. The conference was launched in the United States in 1985 and is held roughly every three years.

This marks the first time South Korea has hosted the event since 2008, an 18-year gap. South Korea was the first Asian host nation when it held the conference that year, and by hosting it again, the country becomes only the fourth in the world — after the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland — to have hosted NEWRAD twice.

The applications of optical radiation measurement technology have expanded significantly. While the field once focused primarily on fundamental measurement standards and detector and light-source technologies, it has grown into critical measurement infrastructure for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of climate science, Earth observation, space research, quantum technology and advanced industries.

The conference is organized into 10 oral sessions and three poster sessions covering topics including solar, stellar and lunar radiometry and Earth observation; detector- and source-based radiometry; quantum optics; optical materials and components; and AI and digital transformation.

More than 140 specialists from national metrology institutes, universities and research institutions across 30 countries are attending, and a total of 132 papers have been submitted, including invited presentations. Key agenda items include satellite calibration and measurement uncertainty for Earth observation from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in the United States, quantum-technology-based radiometry from Japan's National Metrology Institute of Japan, and the digital transformation of photometry and radiometry from Brazil's National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology.

Discussions on international measurement standards and standardization will run alongside the main program. The Consultative Committee for Photometry and Radiometry under the International Committee for Weights and Measures will address international comparisons of measurement results across countries and approaches to measuring and verifying new technologies. After the conference concludes, the International Commission on Illumination is set to take up issues including measurement uncertainty and the international standardization of photometric measurement methods.

Lim Seon-do, head of the KRISS Photometry Group and the overall organizer of the conference, has been named the next chair of the NEWRAD Scientific Committee — the first Korean to hold the position. Following the close of this year's conference, Lim will oversee the long-term operation of NEWRAD, including selecting the next host venue, shaping the academic program and choosing invited speakers.

"As climate, space and quantum technologies grow more precise, what you measure and how accurately you measure it determines the reliability of the technology itself," KRISS President Lee Ho-seong said. "We will further expand KRISS's international role in shaping future optical radiation measurement standards."

nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com