Press Release
Sept. 10 2020
Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS)
Division of Plasma Physics (AAPPS-DPP)

Subramanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics– Professor Hyeon Park is selected as 7th (2020) Laureate –The Division of Plasma Physics (Chair: Mitsuru Kikuchi) under the Associationof Asia Pacific Physical Societies (President: Jun’ichi Yokoyama) has selected
Professor Hyeon Park of the UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science andTechnology) as the 7th (2020) Laureate of S. Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics,
which is awarded to scientist who have made seminal / pioneering contributions in
the field of plasma physics. He is the first Korean Laureate of this prize.

CitationsHyeon Park ： Through his original and pioneering works in fusion plasma
diagnostics, the electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging
reflectometry enabled to visualize magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and turbulent
fluctuations with unprecedented high-resolution, leading to rich discoveries of novel
plasma physics phenomena, for example, in the sawtooth crash process and the edge
localized mode events. The plasma physics research assisted by theadvanced imaging diagnostics enhanced the synergies with numerical modeling andtheories, and elevated fusion plasma research program in Korea. Nowadays theECEI system is a standard research tool in majority of toroidal devices.
Contact points：
AAPPS-DPP Chairman and CEO, Mitsuru Kikuchi(AAPPS-DPP Association Inc.)
TEL: +81-80-115-3482, E-mail: aapps.dpp.ceo@gmail.com
AAPPS-DPP Executive Officer, Haruo Nagai
TEL: 080-1096-4575
AAPPS-DPP Homepage Address：http://aappsdpp.org/AAPPSDPPF/index.html

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On the achievements of Professor Hyeon ParkHyeon K. Park received B.S. degree in physics, USC (1978) and Ph.D.
degrees in electrical engineering, UCLA (1984). He pioneered THz
collective scattering system for study of waves in the plasmas: Ion
acoustic wave and Ion Bernstein wave measurement). His professional
career started at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton
University, where he worked until late 2007; his last rank was Principal
Research Physicist. While he was working on multi-channel
Prof. Hyeon K. Park
interferometer system on TFTR tokamak, he invented a versatile new
inversion algorithm for interferometry measurement. Using the density
profile information, he established that the stored energy/neutron yield of the discharges of the“supershot” regime has a strong correlation with the density profile shape in TFTR. After
decommissioning of the TFTR, he developed high speed/high resolution 2-D microwave camera[electron cyclotron imaging (ECEI) for electron temperature and microwave imaging reflectometry(MIR) for electron density] to elevate understanding of the physics of MHD instabilities andturbulence through international collaboration. The successful test of the ECEI/MIR system was
performed on TEXTOR device, Germany. The result was highlighted in the back to back PRL
papers (2006) on the physics of sawtooth instability as the first author. In late 2007, he returned toKorea as a professor of physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH),
Pohang and established one of the fusion plasma research centers in Korea. There, he developed themost sophisticated 2D/3D ECEI and MIR systems at the time on KSTAR as shown in Fig.1 withsample 2-D images. The ECEI system successfully visualized time evolution of the edge localizedmode (ELM) from growth to burst for the first time and the observed ELM structure was validatedwith the MHD code. Since then the ECEI system has been instrumental for the KSTAR physics
research. In 2013, he moved to the physics department at Ulsan National Institute of Science andTechnology (UNIST), Ulsan, where he established a new fusion research center. He has continued
validation work on major MHD instabilities with worldwide theory groups (Commissariat àl'énergie atomique et aux (CEA), National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI), and PPPL). Highlight
was a clear clarification of the physics models developed for the sawtooth instability for more thanfour decades through intricate validation experiments on KSTAR. Recently, his research has beenon energy exchange problem through interaction between the simultaneously measured
micro-turbulence and mesoscale fluctuation (neoclassical tearing mode and ELMs) in 2-D. This
unique and powerful visualization diagnostic tool become a standard in majority of tokamak
devices throughout the world. Since 2015, he has simultaneously served the KSTAR research centeras a director and senior adviser. He has published more than 300 SCI papers, including 36 PRLs.
The recent review paper in Advances in Physics-X, 2019, summarized his work on new physics
uncovered by the ECEI system up to now. He has delivered numerous plenary and invited talks atmajor international conferences, including IAEA-FEC, AAPPS-DPP, EPS-DPP, and APS-DPP. He
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has served on many international committees, including the International Fusion Research Council
and the ITER Science and Technology Advisory committee, and was a Chair of the ITPA
Diagnostic Division. He also served Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion as an editorial board
member, and he is a Fellow of American Physical Society.

Fig.1 (left) Two toroidally separated (~23 degree) ECEI systems combined with MIR system on
KSTAR. ECEI-I has two views on poloidal plane and ECEI-II has a single view. (right) Twosample images of the same ELM structure with different zoom factor at two toroidal location are
shown: field line pitch, rotation speed and mode number and mode dynamics are comprehensively
measured simultaneously.

Appendix-1: Certificates of 2020 S. Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics
Certificate and medal will be virtually given at the 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Physics(AAPPS-DPP2020 online e-conference) Oct, 26-31, 2020.

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Appendix-2: Glossary
1. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Astrophysicist born in India. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoreticalstudies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of stars, including theChandrasekhar limit on the mass of white dwarf stars. His research covered several broad areas, asseen from his texts, which included Principles of Stellar Dynamics (1942), Hydrodynamics andHydromagnetic Stability (1981), and an influential book based on his lecture notes in Plasma
Physics (1960).

2. AAPPS: Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies（HP: http://www.aapps.org/main/index.php）
The Association of physical societies in the Asia Pacific region founded by the Nobel Laureate in
Physics C.N. Yang, and Professor Akito Arima in 1983. The AAPPS held the 12th Asia PacificPhysics Conference under the president (at that time) Shoji Nagamiya in Makuhari, Japan. The
current president is Professor Jun’ichi Yokoyama, the University of Tokyo, Japan.

3. AAPPS-DPP: Division of Plasma Physics, AAPPS（HP : http://aappsdpp.org/AAPPSDPPF/index.html ）The first division under the AAPPS based on the success of the plasma physics program in theAPPC-12. This division was formed in January 2014 based on the recommendation of Professor
Nagamiya at the AAPPS council. From Nov 28, 2018, AAPPS-DPP becomes legal entity.

4. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics is a top plasma physics prize founded by
the AAPPS-DPP in July 2014 and is endorsed by AAPPS. This prize is given to a plasma physicist
annually for pioneering and/or seminal contribution to plasma physics. The prize recipients wereProfessor S. Ichimaru (2014), Professor P. Kaw (2015), Professor D. Melrose (2016), Professors
C.Z. Cheng and Lou C. Lee (2017), Professor Toshiki Tajima (2018), Professor Liu Chen and
Kazunari Shibata (2019) (http://aappsdpp.org/AAPPSDPPF/prizetable.html). The 2020 prize issponsored by Dawonsys Co. Ltd., Korea (CEO SunSoon Park).
The 2020 Selection Committee composed of leading plasma physicists in Asia-Pacific region.
Chairman : Professor Tomo-Hiko Watanabe (Nagoya University)
Members : Professor Akihide Fujisawa (Kyushu University),
Professor Liu Chen (Zhejiang University),
Professor Siming Liu (Purple Mountain Observatory),
Professor Robert Dewar (Australian National University),
Professor Donald B. Melrose (University of Sydney),
Professor Amita Das (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi),
Professor G.C. Anupama (Indian Institute of Astrophysics),
Professor Kwo Ray Chu (National Taiwan University),
Professor Kerchung Shaing (National Cheng Kung University)
Professor Chang-Hee Nam (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology),
Professor Dong-Hun Lee (Kyung Hee University),4