KAIST's HBM pioneer honored with S&T Innovation Award
Kim Joung-ho / Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology
As artificial intelligence (AI) drives demand for ever-faster computing, Kim Joung-ho, a professor from Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), credited with helping lay the foundations for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), will receive a science and technology innovation award recognizing his contributions to Korea’s semiconductor industry.
The Daejeon Development Committee will present the Science and Technology Innovation Award to Kim at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Lotte City Hotel Daejeon, honoring the professor for his research and role in advancing the development and commercialization of HBM.
Kim, a professor in KAIST’s School of Electrical Engineering, has spent three decades researching next-generation memory technologies, including HBM, high-bandwidth flash and high-bandwidth SRAM, according to the committee.
He proposed core concepts and the basic architecture of HBM and participated in key design and technology validation work during its development in 2009, contributing to SK hynix’s commercialization of the technology in December 2013, which the committee described as a world first.
HBM stacks multiple DRAM chips vertically to move large volumes of data at high speeds, making it a critical component in AI computing, where training and running large models require enormous data throughput.
Kim’s research has also covered through-silicon vias, three-dimensional chip stacking, hybrid bonding, silicon interposers and signal and power integrity design, technologies essential to implementing advanced memory systems.
Lee Geon-seon, chairman of the Daejeon Development Committee, said Kim had helped strengthen the city’s reputation as a center of scientific research while advancing technologies that have reshaped the global semiconductor industry.
Kim said he was grateful for the recognition and would continue developing next-generation technologies and training talent to help Korea maintain its global leadership in memory and AI semiconductors.
The committee, founded in 1973 by local businesspeople and experts, works with public institutions to promote economic growth and urban development in Daejeon.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.