Professor Sangwook Kim of KAIST Simultaneously Serving as Chair of the American and European Materials Societies

KAIST announced on the 24th that Professor Kim Sang-wook of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been appointed as the chairperson for both the 2025 Spring meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS) and the 2025 Fall meeting of the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS).

Professor Kim Sang-wook. Provided by KAIST

MRS and E-MRS are considered the largest academic societies in the field of advanced materials worldwide. These societies primarily discuss ideas to solve humanity’s pressing challenges such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy, sustainability, and healthcare through the advancement of materials science and technology.

MRS was established in the United States in 1973 and has over 13,000 members involved in advanced materials research, contributing to the formation of a global network among academic institutions and industries.

E-MRS was founded in 1983 by European scientists in the field of advanced materials who attended the American MRS meeting, aiming to strengthen the connection and community between basic science and industry.

Currently, E-MRS has members from more than 50 nationalities and holds its meetings in Strasbourg, France (spring), and Warsaw, Poland (fall), respectively.

Notably, the 2025 E-MRS Fall meeting’s organizing committee is composed of researchers specializing in Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) of molecular assembly nano-patterns. This is because the importance of DSA has recently been recognized worldwide as a way to overcome the limitations of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor lithography.

Professor Kim was the first researcher in the world to solve the defect problem in molecular assembly nano-patterning, a chronic issue in the emerging field of DSA in 2003.

Professor Kim has published over 290 SCI journal papers in the field of self-assembly control of nanomaterials and holds more than 20 international patents. Additionally, through entrepreneurial activities aimed at the practical application of nanomaterials, he has been internationally recognized for his highly original research achievements, leading to the proposal for him to serve simultaneously as chairperson of both MRS and E-MRS.

This is a rare case worldwide of holding chair positions in both societies simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Professor Kim earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering at KAIST, completed postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, and has been a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST since 2004. Currently, he also serves as the director of the KAIST Institute for NanoCentury and the head of the Human Rights and Ethics Center at KAIST.