Understanding fundamental interactions of elementary particles is a long sought goal of nuclear physics study. Nuclear theorists recently estimated about 4000 nuclei are still unknown and their structures and reaction mechanisms need to be studied by both experiment and theory. The nuclear properties are also important to find the origin of elements in the Universe. The Center for Exotic Nuclear Studies (CENS) at the Institute for Basic Science was founded to address such fundamental problems in astrophysics and nuclear physics. In this paper, the latest research activities at CENS is highlighted and the status of experimental device developments performed by the center is reported.