□ DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced on Thursday, February 19, the appointment of Donghwan Kim, distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Korea University, as its new Vice President for Research.
□ The new Vice President for Research, Donghwan Kim, a globally recognized authority in the fields of energy and advanced materials, obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Since joining Korea University as a faculty member in 1995, he has held many leadership positions including Dean of the Graduate School of Energy and Environment (Green School), Director of the Energy–Semiconductor Research Center, and Director of the Convergence Research and Innovation Center, demonstrating outstanding capabilities in research administration and organizational management.
□ Vice President Kim has been at the forefront of photovoltaic research and national R&D administration for more than 30 years, with outstanding scholarly achievements including 310 SCI-indexed journal articles and 144 patents. He previously served as Head of the Photovoltaic Project Unit at the former Ministry of Knowledge Economy (now the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources), where he oversaw a large-scale national project valued at KRW 116 billion and played a leading role in establishing Korea’s domestic photovoltaic industry ecosystem.
□ In recognition of these contributions, he was awarded the Order of Science and Technology Merit (“Hyeoksin”: Second Class) in 2019. In 2024, he also received a Presidential Citation in acknowledgment of his contributions to the development of Korea’s core photovoltaic technologies and the cultivation of talent in the field.
□ Upon assuming office, Vice President Kim presented a strategic vision to foster DGIST’s research division into a core engine of national strategic technologies, comparable to the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a world-class research institution. To this end, he plans to establish a “Dual-Engine” research team framework that integrates the creative ideas generated within the undergraduate division with the validation and engineering capabilities of the Convergence Research and Innovation Center, thereby leading large-scale, execution-driven research projects. Furthermore, he will focus on securing super-gap technologies in DGIST’s three flagship brands: physical AI, human digital twin, and quantum sensing, to enhance its global competitiveness.
□ “I will lead field-oriented innovation by adopting efficient administrative processes so that researchers can fully immerse themselves in their research,” stated Donghwan Kim, DGIST’s new Vice President for Research. “I will do my utmost to ensure that DGIST rises to become an honorable hub of research that attracts the attention of the global scientific community.”
