Young-Kee Kim

Young-Kee Kim is the Albert A. Michelson Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago and Director Emeritus of Fermilab, America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory. She previously served as President of the American Physical Society (APS) and President of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA). Kim is an experimental particle physicist whose research focuses on understanding the origin of mass of fundamental particles through the Higgs mechanism, using the world’s highest-energy colliders. Her work is guided by the principle that a comprehensive understanding of mass requires the integration of complementary approaches—from precision measurements of heavy particles to detailed studies of the Higgs boson. She has also been a strong advocate for advancing the participation of women and underrepresented groups in science. Prof. Kim received her B.S. (1984) and M.S. (1986) in physics from Korea University, and her Ph.D. (1990) from the University of Rochester. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as Assistant Professor (1996), Associate Professor (2000), and Full Professor (2002). She joined the University of Chicago in 2003 and served as Chair of the Department of Physics from 2016 to 2022. At Fermilab, she served as Deputy Director from 2006 to 2013 and as Interim Director in 2025. Prof. Kim is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a foreign member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. She is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Her honors include the Ho-Am Prize, the Arthur L. Kelly Faculty Prize at the University of Chicago, and the Korean American Pioneer Award.