The Institute for Basic Science (IBS), has appointed Professor KIM Kyungtaek (50) from the Department of Physics and Photon Science at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) as the Director of the newly established IBS Center for Relativistic Laser Science. The Center, located on the GIST campus, will commence its research activities on December 16.

Professor Kim earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from KAIST. He subsequently worked at the Advanced Photonics Research Institute at GIST, Canada’s National Research Council (NRC), and the University of Ottawa. Since 2014, he has been a professor at GIST’s Department of Physics and Photon Science. From 2014 to 2023, he also served as a group leader and associate director of the IBS Center for Relativistic Laser Science.

Research on high-power lasers, which involves ultra-intense and high-energy lasers, has broad applications across basic science, medical technology, space exploration, defense, and various industries. Notably, new light source technologies utilizing high-power lasers are driving innovations in semiconductor manufacturing processes and precision imaging while serving as vital tools in nanotechnology and quantum science research.

Professor Kim has garnered international attention for proposing a novel extreme ultraviolet (EUV) attosecond pulse compression technique to overcome the limitations of existing technologies. His achievements include generating EUV attosecond pulses for nanoscale imaging and semiconductor applications through powerful lasers.

Key accomplishments include studies on high-order harmonics generated by plasma mirrors using flat liquid sheets (2023, Nature Communications), developing new pathways in EUV generation considering light source intensity (2018, Nature Photonics), and devising a tunneling ionization method to measure the temporal properties of laser fields with high resolution (2018, Optica). These outstanding contributions have earned him prestigious awards, such as the Korean Optical Society’s Academic Award (2022) and the Korean Physical Society’s Atomic and Molecular Physics Award (2020).

The Center for Relativistic Laser Science, under Professor Kim’s leadership, will focus on generating and measuring relativistic high-order harmonic attosecond pulses while developing advanced particle acceleration technologies. The center aims to investigate phenomena in strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED), such as the collision of relativistic particles and photons. Ultimately, it seeks to experimentally replicate QED plasma generation observed near neutron stars or black holes.

Professor Kim stated, “Attosecond science is not only instrumental for observing ultrafast changes in material properties but also provides a pathway to achieving extreme light intensities. By leveraging powerful attosecond pulses, we aim to investigate QED phenomena and explore extreme light-matter interactions, contributing to advancements across astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and quantum science.”

NOH Do Young, President of IBS, commented, “Professor KIM Kyungtaek has pioneered the attosecond science field in Korea and made significant contributions to securing core technologies for high-value-added high-power lasers. With Professor Kim and GIST’s expertise in photonic technology, we aim to establish a solid foundation for ushering in a new era of laser science and technology.”

IBS Public Relations Team
William I. Suh