Center for Van der Waals Quantum Solids

Sung Wng Kim is a Materials Physicist, Associate Director of the Center for van der Waals Quantum Solids (vdWQS) at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea. His research lies at the intersection of material physics, condensed matter physics, and inorganic chemistry, with a primary emphasis on discovering and synthesizing fundamentally new material systems. He is particularly renowned for pioneering two-dimensional van der Waals systems, novel quantum materials, inorganic electrides, and thermoelectric materials. His landmark discoveries in 2D electrides, topological materials, and quantum electron phases have established new research paradigms for exotic materials in future quantum technology and condensed matter physics.

He completed his Ph.D. in Material Physics at Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2003. Prior to joining POSTECH in 2026, he held a faculty position at Tokyo Institute of Technology (2008–2012) and served as a Professor in the Department of Energy Science at Sungkyunkwan University (2012–2026). Earlier in his faculty career, he had achieved world-record performance of thermoelectric materials and discovered the first 2D electride with floating quantum electrons, findings that opened new directions for exotic electronic phases in low-dimensional materials. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to material discovery and physics, he has received numerous honors, including the Scientist of the Month Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea in 2016 and the S-Oil Next-Generation Scientist Award from the Korean Academy of Science and Technology in 2021. He joined the IBS vdWQS Center (www.ibs.re.kr/vdwqs) in 2026 and set up its Associate Director research group.