<Professor Joungho Kim>
EE Professor Joungho Kim has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Kang Dae Won Award in the Circuits and Systems category, in recognition of his contributions to the development of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).
Established to honor the late Dr. Kang Dae Won, the pioneer behind the world’s first MOSFET and floating gate, the Kang Dae Won Award has been recognizing outstanding researchers who continue his legacy since the 24th KCS in 2017.
Professor Joungho Kim, often referred to as the “Father of HBM,” is a world-renowned authority in AI semiconductor technology. For over two decades, he has played a pivotal role in leading HBM-related design technologies worldwide. His research in Through-Silicon Via (TSV), interposers, signal integrity (SI), and power integrity (PI) design has been recognized globally for its originality and impact. Notably, since 2010, he has been directly involved in the design and commercialization of HBM, which is credited with enabling the modern AI era.
Recently, he has been at the forefront of research on next-generation HBM architectures, including HBM4, HBM5, and HBM6. Furthermore, he is actively working on automating HBM design using artificial intelligence. In particular, he is pioneering research at a global level by integrating reinforcement learning and generative AI to optimize HBM’s electrical and thermal performance, leading advancements in this field.
An IEEE Fellow, Professor Kim has been recognized for his significant contributions to the semiconductor industry through research and education. In recognition of his achievements, he has received prestigious awards, including the KAIST Academic Award, KAIST Research Award, KAIST International Collaboration Award, and the IEEE Technical Achievement Award. He has also won over 20 Best Paper Awards at major international conferences, further demonstrating his academic excellence.
This award is presented by the Permanent Steering Committee of the Korean Conference on Semiconductors (KCS). The award ceremony will take place in the afternoon of February 13 during the opening session of the 32nd Korean Conference on Semiconductors (KCS 2025) at High1 Grand Hotel in Gangwon-do. The event is co-hosted by the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA), the Korea Semiconductor Research Association (KSRA), and DB HiTek.
