B4C/Al composite is mainly used for neutron absorbing materials, which is one of the components of equipment that manages spent nuclear fuel. There are various processes for manufacturing neutron absorbing materials, but most of them are based on the powder metallurgy. In this study, B4C/Al composite in which the reinforcement was uniformly dispersed was manufactured by using the stir casting process. The microstructure, thermal neutron absorption rate, mechanical properties and dispersibility of the reinforcement of the prepared B4C/Al composite were analyzed.

In Africa, rice is the fastest demanding staple food with a high growth rate of consumption at 4.5% per annum. Currently Africa occupies 32% of world rice imports, and pressure on rice is expected to rise in the near future. Faced with this deficit, Korea has launched the rice breeding project through Korea-Africa Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) of which goal is to increase rice productivity through accelerated development of improved germplasm and varieties in Africa. As of 2013, the ten African member countries joined the rice breeding projects of KAFACI program; they are Cameroon, DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. We adopted the breeding strategy of intervarietal cross and anther culture to speed up high-yielding secondary populations using the Korean and African germplasm. Korean germplasm is composed of 1) temperate japonicas adaptable to tropical conditions of short-day length and high temperature 2) wide-cross derivatives from African wild species, O.glaberrima and O,longistaminata, and 3) tongil-type varieties. These germplasm is evaluated for adaptability in Africa and African partners make crosses with local germplasm with the best selections. Korea produce double-haploid populations from these crosses for another cycle of selection for high-yielding lines in Africa. Inter-varietal crosses and double-haploid technology could accelerate the development of high-yielding germplasm and new rice varieties in Africa within short project period.