Korean Media: "South Korean Scholar Returning from China" ... "Quantum Mechanics, We Can Also Lead"
¬ Quitting the position of professor at Tsinghua University, returning to South Korea for the first time in 14 years ... Kim Ki-hwan, Director of IBS Quantum Science Research Group
"As a South Korean, I have always dreamed of conducting research in South Korea."
Professor Kim Ki-hwan, 52, was appointed as the first director of the Ion Trap Quantum Science Research Team at the Daejeon Institute for Basic Science (IBS). In an interview with this newspaper, he said, "Although South Korea is still at the level of a 'rapid imitator' in quantum fields, since the research field is endless, we can also stand at the forefront of this field." Kim resigned from his position as a professor at Tsinghua University on the 28th and returned to South Korea. Recently, authoritative scholars in cutting-edge science have been going abroad one after another. In this context, the academic community has responded that his action of giving up the generous treatment at a Chinese university and choosing to return to South Korea is rare.
On the 29th, Kim said in an interview at the IBS headquarters in Daejeon, "Although quantum fields are currently receiving much attention in South Korea, quantum experts were often not valued in the past. At that time, I followed the trend and went abroad, but now I want to become the foundation for the growth of new scientists. Recently, quantum fields have emerged as strategic technologies, and I often hear people around me advising me to consider opportunities to contribute to South Korea. Because I can focus independently on research at IBS, I decided to return to South Korea. Our goal is to recruit more than 40 new scientists for the research team by next year."
Kim obtained his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in physics from Seoul National University, and then continued his studies at the University of Innsbruck in Austria and the University of Maryland in the United States. In 2011, he was appointed as an associate professor at the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University, and became a full professor in 2021. He is known worldwide as an expert in the field of quantum computing, especially in ion trap technology. Ion trap technology is a core technology that uses electromagnetic fields to trap ions, thereby improving the accuracy of quantum computer operations. At Tsinghua University, he has always served as the principal investigator (PI) of the ion trap research team.
Kim said he plans to study how much the computing power of future quantum systems can be expanded. The latest quantum computers use about 100-1000 qubits. However, he said he wants to research methods to expand it to millions of qubit levels.
Kim said that more than ten years ago, he applied to dozens of universities in the country, but failed repeatedly in the process of hiring professors. After that, he finally chose a university in China. Kim said, "At that time, the domestic academic community paid little attention to the unfamiliar quantum field. In contrast, China focused on the future and made active investments in both basic and applied sciences."
Kim said, "Compared to China, which promotes quantum research under national leadership, or the United States, where large companies lead research, South Korea has only given formal attention to quantum fields for 4-5 years. From the stage of basic science, there are infinite research contents. To achieve real quantum computing, quantum computers must reach the scale of several million qubits, but current operational devices only have hundreds of qubits. There is a lot of work to be done in the future."
After introducing Kim, IBS built a five-story "Quantum Building" on its campus and is currently introducing research equipment. It plans to add quantum research teams starting next year and build a "Quantum Information Science Cluster."
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852993899536400/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.