SEOKMIN SHIN 신석민

KFAS Fellowship 13th Term (1990)

PhD, Chemistry, University of Chicago, 1992

Thesis: Theoretical Studies of the Structure and Phase Transitions of Liquid Supported Monolayers

Work & Experiences 

• Postdoctoral Fellow, The James Franck Institute, University of Chicago (1992-1994)
• Professor of Chemistry, Seoul National University, South Korea (1995-present)
• Chairman, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University (2013-2018)
• Dean of Academic Affairs, Seoul National University, South Korea (2019-2020)
• President, The Korean Chemical Society (2022-2023)

Seokmin Shin received a bachelor’s degree with honors in 1985 and a Master’s degree in 1987 from the Seoul National University. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where he worked under the supervision of Stuart A. Rice. His PhD thesis concerned the structures and phase transitions of interfaces, especially on Langmuir monolayers. He was a postdoctoral fellow with John C. Light at the University of Chicago and with Horia Methiu at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  He joined the Seoul National University as a faculty member in 1995, where he is presently Professor of Chemistry. The focus of his research is to study dynamical processes involved in the chemical changes leading to specific functions of molecular systems. His research concerns the development of theories, mathematical frameworks, and computational methods for describing dynamics of complex molecular systems. He investigates quantum dynamics in chemical reactions, self-assembly at surfaces/interfaces, and protein dynamics by computer simulations. He is also interested in applications of quantum computing and AI for chemistry. He has served as the Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of the Brain Korea 21 Chemistry & Molecular Engineering Division, Chairman of the Chemistry Department at Seoul National University, and President of the Korean Chemical Society. Seokmin Shin currently holds the position of Professor of Chemistry at Seoul National University. His main publications include The Chemistry of Life, the Chemistry of Living (2023), Thermodynamics (translation, 2021), and Physical Chemistry: Quanta, Matter, and Change (translation, 2018). He has received two awards from the Korean Chemical Society, including the 2003 Physical Chemistry Division Award for Young Researchers and the 2014 Physical Chemistry Division Award (Ipjae Award).