Professor Shoon Kyung Kim (1920-2003) was  a chemistry professor at Temple University from 1969 to 1990. Before joining Temple University, he was a professor at the Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University (SNU) between 1951-1965. He went to the United States and served as a Professor at Department of Chemistry, Louisville University (1966-69).  He is well known forhis study on Group Theory.

 He was born in Hamheung, Hamgyungnamdo in 1920. He graduated department of Applied Chemistry, Kyungsung Technical College in 1942. He wend to Japan in 1942 andgraduated Department of Chemistry, Osaka University in 1944. He went to the United States and got his Ph. D. (Advisor: Prof. Lars Onsager (1968 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) from Yale University in 1956.

  He was a delegate of KCS with prof. Dong Il Kim when KCS joined to IUPAC in 1963.

  He participated in the establishment of Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) and served as the 2nd president of KSEA.

  Professor Shoon Kyung Kim published several books including following:

  (1) Shoon K. Kim, Group Theoretical Methods and Applications to Molecules and Crystals,  Cambridge University Press, 1999 

   (Book DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511534867)

  He participated in campaign against  "Yusin" of  S. Korean Government  in Korea in 1972 and he was unable to visit S. Korea because S. Korean Government banned him to enter S. Korea untill 1982. The ban was lifted from 1983.

  He received an Academy Award from National Academy of Sciences, Korea (1961), Dongbaek-Jang, Order of Civil Merit (1972), Mugunghwa-Jang, Order of Civil Merit (1996).

References:

1. http://www.kofst.or.kr/kofst/PDF/2005/n8s435/GGDCBE_2005_n8s435_16.pdf

(Korean)

2. http://gsdemo1005.giantsoft.co.kr/html/people_people_detail_01.asp?idx=16  

(Korean)

3. http://articles.philly.com/2003-03-20/news/25472804_1_chemistry-assistant-professor-physics (accessed October 22, 2015).

This page was last updated on October 22, 2015. 

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