sslee.pdf

인하대학교 물리학과 교수

In memoriam: Sang Soo Lee

10 May 2010

Known as the “Father of Optics” in Korea, Dr. Lee was the first scientist with a Ph.D. degree in optics in his country, and he nearly single-handedly laid the foundation for optical science and engineering there. During a career spanning more than four decades, he was active as an educator, researcher and author. He played a central role in establishing the Optical Society of Korea (OSK) in 1989 and served as its first president, and he also served as the first president of KAIST (1971-72).

Dr. Lee received a B.S. in Physics from Seoul National University in Korea (1949) and a Ph.D. from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, UK (1959). From 1960-70, he worked at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), first as Head of the Physics Research Division (1960-67), and then as Director (1967-70). After a year as Director General of the Office of Korea Atomic Energy (1970-71), Dr. Lee went to KAIST, which was the newly established graduate school of science and technology, fully funded by the Korean government. He was named Professor in the Department of Physics in 1971 and remained in that position until 1989. From 1989-91, he again served a term as President of KAIST.

During his teaching career, Dr. Lee mentored 50 doctoral and more than 100 masters’ degree candidates. Many of his former students have become leaders in academia, government-funded research institutes, and industry. He published more than 250 technical papers and authored five textbooks, including Wave Optics, Ray Optics, Quantum Optics and Laser Speckles and Holography.

Dr. Lee was an active member in the scientific community. In addition to his pioneering scholastic achievements at OSK and KAIST, he served as the Vice President of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (1995-97), the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (1992-95), and the International Commission for Optics (ICO) (1993-1999). He was a Council Member of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and a Council Member of UN University, serving as an ambassador for the optics community.

Dr. Lee was a Fellow of the OSA (1975), the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), and the Korean Physical Society. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including the National Order of Civil Merit that is the Presidential Medal of Honor from the Republic of Korea (2000), the Songgok Academic Achievement Prize, the Presidential Award for Science, and the Medal of Honor for Distinguished Scientific Achievement (Republic of Korea). In 2006, he was awarded OSA’s Esther Hoffman Beller Medal “for laying the foundation for optical science and engineering in Korea through forty-plus years of teaching and research.”

http://osa.org/about_osa/newsroom/obituaries/sangsoolee.aspx

한국광학회 명예회장이신 이상수 KAIST 명예교수님께서 2010년 5월 7일 오후 2시 30분께 숙환으로 별세하셨다.

이 명예교수께서는 서울대 문리대 물리학과를 졸업하시고 영국 Imperial College of Science and Technology에서 박사학위를 받았으며, 1964부터 1965년까지 Harvard 대학에서 연구원으로 활동했다. 1961년에는 한국원자력연구소에서 물리학 연구부를 이끌었으며, 1967년에 한국원자력연구소장이 되었다. 1970년에는 한국 원자력청장을 역임했으며, KAIST 초대총장을 지냈다.

李 명예교수는 대한민국 학술원 회원(1981), 한국물리학회 회장(1979-1981), 한국 광학회 회장(1989)을 역임하였고, 미국 광학회와 영국 물리학협회의 펠로우이다. 1993년부터 1999년까지 International Commission for Optics의 부회장을 역임, 1989년부터 1995년까지 UN 대학의 자문위원으로 활동하였다. 상훈으론 국민훈장 모란장과 무궁화장, 성곡문화상, 인촌상, 미국광학회상을 받았으며 저서로는 파동과학, 레이저광학, 기하광학, 양자광학, 레이저 스펙클라 홀로그라피 등 다수가 있다.

李 명예교수는 한국원자력연구소에서 '원자로의 체렌코프 방사에 관한 연구'를 했다. 원자로의 긴급정지 시점에서부터 체렌코프 방사의 붕괴모드를 측정함으로써 r-선의 분광학을 완성시켰다. KAIST에서는 레이저 개발을 연구, phase conjugate work의 발생에 이용되는 가변 분극 염료 레이저(variable polarization dye laser)와 다양한 재료가공법에 사용되는 요오드 광해리 레이저(iodine photo-dissociation laser)를 설계하는데 조력했다. 엑스선 광학을 포함하여 다양한 분야에 적용될 수 있는, 수차가 거의 없는 four-mirror 시스템을 개발했다.

이 명예교수는 또한 2006년도 미국광학회상 (Esther Hoffman Beller 메달) 수상자로 선정되었다.

李 명예교수는 광학공학 교육에 대한 뛰어난 공헌과 40년이 넘는 기간 동안 지도와 연구를 통해 한국광학공학의 토대를 마련한 공로로 이상을 수상하게 되었다. 유족으로는 2남을 두었으며 발인은 5월 10일 8시 삼성의료원.