Professor Inki Kim from the Department of Biophysics Selected as a Finalist for the “Rising Stars of Light” Award
- Only six finalists selected worldwide — and the only scholar from a Korean university
Professor Inki Kim of the Department of Biophysics has been named a Finalist for the 2025 Rising Stars of Light award, presented by Light: Science & Applications, a top-tier optics journal published by Springer Nature.
The Rising Stars of Light program recognizes outstanding researchers under the age of 40 in the field of optics. Each year, six finalists are selected worldwide, from which three winners are later chosen. This year, Professor Kim was selected as one of the six finalists — and the only finalist affiliated with a Korean university.
Professor Kim is an emerging scientist conducting active research in metamaterials, nanophotonics, and biophotonics. He has published more than 80 papers in international journals, has over 5,800 citations, and holds an H-index of 42, demonstrating his strong global impact.
▲ Rising Stars of Light Finalist Certificate
Since joining Sungkyunkwan University in 2021, he has continued to develop groundbreaking technologies, including: ▲A metalens-based ultra-high-resolution image-scanning microscope (2025, Light: Science & Applications) ▲A metalens-based 3D imaging technique for brain organoids (2025, Science Advances) ▲A metasurface chip–based ultrafast PCR technology (2024, Advanced Materials) ▲A single-molecule imaging metalens technology (2024, Nature Communications)
Other finalists this year include Professors Aaswath Raman (UCLA), Yijie Shen (Nanyang Technological University), and Chengying Bao (Tsinghua University). Although Professor Kim was not selected as one of the final three winners, being chosen as a finalist amid global competition is recognized as a significant achievement that highlights his international research excellence.
Professor Kim stated, “It is an honor to be selected as a finalist alongside world-class researchers. I will continue pioneering new research directions by integrating metamaterial-based optical technologies with biotechnological applications.”
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