Lit Just Kyber crystals?!

As someone who is known on this forum as the guy who posts technology questions instead of one technology related thread, I have luckily kicked that habit. However, I have not kicked my love of science and technology. In Catalyst, we learned about how Galen Erso worked on weaponizing Kyber crystals. First off. Is their society so unadvanced that they are messing around with crystals? Okay they are supposed to fuel the Death Star and are part of the plot, I just find it so strange that FTL travel would be perfected centuries before figuring out the properties of kyber crystals. Anyway, my other complaint was that in the novel, Catalyst, we didn't catch glimpses of what the other scientists that are employed by the Empire are working on. I would love to have known what the Iktochi scientist who Galen got into a fist fight with was working on.


Anyway, my question is. What possible other things could the scientists of the Empire be researching and working on besides kyber crystals? I don't think teleportation or time travel because by the time of the novel Phasma and the Force Awakens novelization, these things are hinted to be impossible. I also don't think matter replication is a viable idea since it would create a post-scarcity society and the Empire would probably try to surpluses all research of that technology. A wormhole gate appeared in the Han Solo comic but nobody seems to be doing anything with it and it was said to be ancient technology too complicated to figure out


So what's left? What else could scientists be working to achieve during the time of the Empire? Any and all ideas besides the ones I mentioned are welcomed.

 

STAR WARS is not a time that goes forward but serves as every time ever.

It is a time of incredible technology and beast riding knights.

Of primitive superstition and amazing advances.

Now and forever.

 

I don't think we're going to see any huge technological advances in the Star Wars universe. Charlemagne19 put it better than I could. If I were to speculate on the projects of top Imperial scientists, I would guess either military technology or some pet project of Palpatine (perhaps attempting to replicate or activate some ancient Sith doodads).