Professor Chulhong Kim of Electrical Engineering became the first Korean scholar to give a Hot Topics keynote at SPIE Photonics West, held March 6–11.

Selected in recognition of his innovative work on next-generation combined photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging systems, he presented the latest findings in this field.

Since joining POSTECH in 2013, he has developed and commercialized next-generation IT-integrated medical imaging using optics and ultrasound, leading research across chemistry, biology, materials, and medicine. He founded Opticho in 2018 and successfully exported next-generation photoacoustic microscopy equipment. He received the 2020 Microscopy Today Innovation Award and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award at the first Industry–University Project Challenge in 2020.

He has published approximately 150 papers in journals including Nature Nanotechnology, PNAS, and Light: Science & Applications, receiving over 10,000 citations, and serves on international conference program committees and journal editorial boards.

Founded in 1955, SPIE has had approximately 250,000 members across 183 countries in optical engineering. Photonics West is a leading conference in optics, optoelectronics, photonics, and optical applications, attracting more than approximately 23,000 participants.

Bio Optics and Acoustics Laboratory @ POSTECH.