University of Seoul student team wins grand prize at Simulation Challenge 2026

Prize winners and other participants pose during the award ceremony at Simulation Challenge 2026 at Yeoksam POSCO Tower in southern Seoul on July 30. Courtesy of University of Seoul

A University of Seoul student team won the grand prize at Simulation Challenge 2026, held at Yeoksam POSCO Tower in southern Seoul on July 30.

The Simulation Challenge was an academic competition organized by Synopsys Korea’s Simulation & Analysis Division and co-hosted by Tae Sung S&E. Participating teams used simulation software to propose solutions to technical industry challenges and demonstrate the feasibility of their designs.

The university said the Save the World with Hybrid Bonding team from its Advanced Packaging Lab earned the top prize in the undergraduate division of the competition.

The team participated in the event under the guidance of Park Ah-young, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

The team consisted of materials science and engineering majors Choi Seung-uk and Jang Sun-woong, and chemical engineering major Kim Kwon-hee.

It presented its research titled “Design of a Radial Collet Bonding Tool for Reducing Voids in the Hybrid Bonding Process.”

Hybrid bonding is a technology that directly bonds copper pads and dielectric layers. It is a key technology for high-density semiconductor packaging applications such as high-bandwidth memory and chiplets.

To reduce voids caused by trapped air at the interface during bonding, the team proposed a novel bonding tool that controls the collet’s curvature and contact behavior.

Through simulations, the team analyzed how the contact area expands sequentially from the center toward the outer edge and examined the pressure distribution at the interface. Based on the results, it proposed a design approach to reduce the likelihood of void formation.

The students demonstrated their engineering problem-solving skills in advanced semiconductor packaging by independently carrying out the entire process, from defining the problem and selecting design variables to building the simulation model, analyzing the results and presenting their findings.

Members of the University of Seoul student team pose after receiving the grand prize in the undergraduate division of Simulation Challenge 2026, held at Yeoksam POSCO Tower in southern Seoul on July 30. From left are chemical engineering major Kim Kwon-hee and materials science and engineering majors Choi Seung-uk and Jang Sun-woong. Courtesy of University of Seoul

The team will receive a scholarship and an opportunity to present its research at Simulation World Korea 2026, the country’s largest simulation conference, to be held in September.

“It's meaningful that the students addressed the void problem in hybrid bonding by linking equipment design with simulation and developed a creative solution,” Park said.

“It was challenging to venture into the unfamiliar field of simulation, and we went through a lot of trial and error,” said Choi, the team leader. “This award would not have been possible without the hard work of our team members and professor Park’s attentive guidance.”

Now in its second year, the Simulation Challenge attracted 149 teams and individual participants during the preregistration period, with 80 teams advancing to the preliminary round.

A total of 18 universities from across the country participated, including Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

This year, the competition introduced separate categories for undergraduate and graduate students for the first time. Following the preliminary round, 14 teams advanced to the final round, including six undergraduate teams and eight graduate teams.