Jeong H. Kim
Encyclopedia
Dr. Jeong-Hoon Kim is a Korean-American electrical engineer
and administrator who, since 2005, has served as president of Bell Labs
.
Jeong Kim was born in Seoul
, South Korea
. He came to the U.S. from Korea with his father and stepmother at the age of 14. He began school in Anne Arundel County, Maryland
with no knowledge of English. At sixteen, he left home and supported himself with odd jobs while he completed high school. He was accepted at Johns Hopkins University
, where he completed his degrees in electrical engineering and computer science
in three years while working for a start-up computer firm called Digitus, in which he eventually became a partner.
Kim then joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as a nuclear submarine
officer for seven years. During this period he also obtained a master's degree
in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins. When he returned to civilian life, Kim worked for AlliedSignal
at the Naval Research Laboratory, and again returned to school. After just two years of study, he received his Ph.D.
in 1991 in reliability engineering
, the first doctorate in that field awarded by the University of Maryland
.
In 1992, Dr. Kim started his own firm, Yurie Systems, to promote his own ideas about streamlining electronic communications between different systems. There, he led the development of an asynchronous transfer mode
switch for wireless devices. The company was very successful, and, in 1998, Lucent paid over one billion dollars to acquire it. Kim stayed on with Lucent as a division president until 2001, when he returned to the University of Maryland as Professor of Practice in Reliability Engineering, with a joint appointment in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials and Nuclear Engineering.
In March 2003, Dr. Kim led an investor group that purchased Cibernet
from the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association
. He assumed Cibernet's chairmanship intending "to introduce new technologies that [would] benefit wireless carriers around the world." He left Cibernet in April, 2005, when he returned to Lucent to become President of their renowned Bell Labs
division.
In 1998, The Korea Society
honored Dr. Kim with its annual James A. Van Fleet Award
for his contributions to closer U.S.-Korea relations. He has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
. The University of Maryland gave him its Innovation Hall of Fame award, and further honored him with the construction and naming of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering and Applied Sciences Building. In addition, Dr. Kim serves on the boards of many academic, corporate, and non-profit organizations, including the NASDAQ
Listing and Hearing Review Council.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and administrator who, since 2005, has served as president of Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
.
Jeong Kim was born in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. He came to the U.S. from Korea with his father and stepmother at the age of 14. He began school in Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
with no knowledge of English. At sixteen, he left home and supported himself with odd jobs while he completed high school. He was accepted at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, where he completed his degrees in electrical engineering and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
in three years while working for a start-up computer firm called Digitus, in which he eventually became a partner.
Kim then joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as a nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
officer for seven years. During this period he also obtained a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins. When he returned to civilian life, Kim worked for AlliedSignal
AlliedSignal
AlliedSignal was an aerospace, automotive and engineering company that acquired and merged with Honeywell for $15 billion in 1999, after which the new group adopted the Honeywell name.AlliedSignal was created through a 1985 merger of Allied Corp...
at the Naval Research Laboratory, and again returned to school. After just two years of study, he received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1991 in reliability engineering
Reliability engineering
Reliability engineering is an engineering field, that deals with the study, evaluation, and life-cycle management of reliability: the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. It is often measured as a probability of...
, the first doctorate in that field awarded by the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
.
In 1992, Dr. Kim started his own firm, Yurie Systems, to promote his own ideas about streamlining electronic communications between different systems. There, he led the development of an asynchronous transfer mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
switch for wireless devices. The company was very successful, and, in 1998, Lucent paid over one billion dollars to acquire it. Kim stayed on with Lucent as a division president until 2001, when he returned to the University of Maryland as Professor of Practice in Reliability Engineering, with a joint appointment in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials and Nuclear Engineering.
In March 2003, Dr. Kim led an investor group that purchased Cibernet
Cibernet
CTIA - The Wireless Association , the membership organization founded in 1984 to represent wireless communications companies in the United States, developed a process and protocol with GTE to exchange call record information and invoice and pay each other for providing this service.The protocol...
from the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association
CTIA – The Wireless Association is an industry trade group that represents a wide variety of interests on behalf of the wireless telecommunications industry in the United States...
. He assumed Cibernet's chairmanship intending "to introduce new technologies that [would] benefit wireless carriers around the world." He left Cibernet in April, 2005, when he returned to Lucent to become President of their renowned Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
division.
In 1998, The Korea Society
Korea Society
The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501 organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea...
honored Dr. Kim with its annual James A. Van Fleet Award
James A. Van Fleet Award
The General James A. Van Fleet Award , given annually since 1995 by The Korea Society, is awarded “to one or more distinguished Koreans or Americans in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the promotion of U.S.-Korea relations.” It is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of...
for his contributions to closer U.S.-Korea relations. He has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
. The University of Maryland gave him its Innovation Hall of Fame award, and further honored him with the construction and naming of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering and Applied Sciences Building. In addition, Dr. Kim serves on the boards of many academic, corporate, and non-profit organizations, including the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
Listing and Hearing Review Council.