Professor Joo-Young Kim of the School of Electrical Engineering (EE) at KAIST has been selected as a 2026 Incoming Member of the Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology (Y-KAST) under the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST).
Y-KAST is an academy composed of outstanding young scientists under the age of 43, selected based on their exceptional academic achievements.
In particular, the selection process places strong emphasis on research accomplishments achieved as an independent researcher in Korea after earning a doctoral degree, identifying promising next-generation leaders with strong potential to contribute to the advancement of science and technology in Korea.
Professor Kim has been recognized for his pioneering contributions to the field of AI semiconductor systems and architectures, including world-first achievements in AI accelerators and Processing-In-Memory (PIM) semiconductors.
More recently, he has expanded the industrial impact of his research through the development of LPU-based AI semiconductors optimized for large language model (LLM) inference, earning him selection as a member of the Engineering Division of Y-KAST.
With Professor Kim’s selection, KAIST EE now includes six active Y-KAST members—Professor Joo-Young Kim, Steven Euijong Whang, Minsoo Rhu, HyunJoo J. Lee, Min Seok Jang, and Junil Choi—along with two former Y-KAST members, Professors Joonwoo Bae and Changho Suh, whose terms have concluded.
This achievement further underscores KAIST EE’s strong presence and leadership within Korea’s next-generation scientific community.
Established in February 2017, Y-KAST is the only young academy in Korea composed of outstanding scientists under the age of 45. Its members actively engage in science and technology policy initiatives and international collaborations, contributing to the global advancement of science and engineering.
