Association of Korean Physicists Recognizes Brian Kim

The Association of Korean Physicists in America has awarded MSE assistant professor Brian Kim the Outstanding Young Researcher Award for his work in condensed matter physics and nanotechnology. Kim, who joined the University of Arizona College of Engineering at the beginning of 2024, works with a combination of engineering and physics in the design and construction of complex heterostructures, a material for semiconductors.

"I have experienced tremendous support from colleagues both in the department and across the UA since joining the university back in January this year,” Kim said. “This strong sense of support and collaboration have definitely helped me settle in and have helped me achieve this award."

Working with complex heterostructures, Kim aims to control and manipulate 2D and quantum materials at the atomic scale to discover new properties helpful for various advanced technologies. These include controlling charge transfer between atomic layers. Doing so, researchers can easily program the density and the polarity of electrons at desired locations, leading to a new tool to create and study quasiparticles called plasmons. Plasmons are oscillations of electrons confined on a two-dimensional surface. They are a form of light-matter interaction that enable the control of the flow of light at nanoscale and thus, may be useful in devices like quantum computers or sensors. 

"It’s fascinating that we can control these materials at an atomic level to create the properties that we want on demand. The potential impact of my research is huge,” Kim said. “The ability to manipulate 2D and quantum materials with an unprecedented level of precision allows us to ‘program’ properties on demand. This ability will provide a viable route for integrating these exciting materials into many emerging advanced device platforms, including nanoelectronic and nanophotonic technologies, and will also impact quantum science information and technologies."

The Outstanding Young Researcher Award is given jointly by AKPA and the Korean Physics Society and affords awardees opportunities to connect with faculty and scientific networks throughout Korea. Kim says many well-known Korean physicists whom he looks up to have earned this award early into their career, making his achievement especially meaningful.

"I’m extremely honored to have received this prestigious award,” Kim said. “I hope that this award is just the beginning of many exciting new achievements, discoveries and inventions to be made in the near future at the UA.”