IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q2 2023 - 3

Interview
An Interview with Professor Sung-Mo Steve Kang
n April of 2023, the Associate Editor of
I
IEEE Circuits
and Systems (IEEE CAS)-M, Fan Chen, had
the privilege to interview Professor Sung-Mo Steve
Kang, a widely recognized distinguished academician,
university leader, inventor, and entrepreneur with a
remarkable career spanning several decades. This interview
was a fascinating and insightful
conversation that offered
a glimpse into the life, research,
and career path of one of the most
eminent personalities in the field
of engineering. We hope our CAS
readers enjoy and benefit from his
profound knowledge and valuable
advice - Thank you!
Prof. Kang's Short Bio
Sung-Mo Steve Kang is a Distinguished
Chair Professor Emeritus
and a Distinguished Research
Professor at the Baskin School of
Engineering, UC Santa Cruz. He is
the Chancellor Emeritus of UC Merced
and the President Emeritus of
KAIST. He has published over 500
journal articles and conference papers, 16 patents, and
over ten books including a textbook on CMOS digital IC
analysis and design, which has been translated into multiple
languages and used globally. Before returning to
academia in 1985, he led the development of the world's
premier fully-CMOS 32-bit VLSI microprocessor chipsets
for telecommunication and computing applications as a
technical supervisor of AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray
Hill, NJ. He has received honors including the Silicon Valley
Engineering Hall of Fame Induction, Alexander von
Humboldt Senior U.S. Scientists Award, IEEE Millennium
Medal, CAS Society Mac Van Valkenburg Award, IEEE
CAS Society Charles A. Desoer Technical Excellence
Award, U.S. Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)
Technical Excellence Award, IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer
Graduate Teaching Technical Field Award, IEEE CAS Society
John Choma, Jr. Education Award, and Chang-Lin
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCAS.2023.3272088
Date of current version: 20 July 2023
SECOND QUARTER 2023
Tien Education Leadership Award. He received his B.S.
degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), Teaneck,
NJ in 1970, a honorary B.S. degree from Yonsei
University, an M.S. degree from the State University of
New York, Buffalo in 1972, and a Ph.D. degree from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1975. Dr. Kang is a
Life Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of
the Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) and the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS), a Life Member
of the Korean Academy of Science
and Technology, and a Foreign
Member of the National Academy
of Engineering, Korea. His current
research interest includes neuromorphic
computing, low-power
VLSI circuits and systems, and
emerging technologies for heterogeneous
systems integration.
Question 1: Your background is
certainly unique, having been born
and raised in Korea, immigrated
to the U.S., worked in both industry
and academia, and made transitions back and forth
between the U.S. and Korea. Can you share how these
diverse experiences throughout your life have impacted
your career path? Additionally, based on your unique
experiences, what advice would you offer to individuals
seeking to navigate their own career journeys?
Prof. Kang: I think my journey was quite challenging but
exciting and rewarding. To study abroad was a dream
since my high school days. When I was a senior student
in Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, suddenly a new scholarship
was offered to Yonsei University by FDU, Teaneck,
NJ. It was my fortune to get selected, transfer to FDU,
and graduate after one year with a B.S. degree in electrical
engineering. At FDU I met a female Korean student,
Myoung A. (Mia) Cha, who was studying mathematics
and computer science. Eventually we got married in the
UN Chapel in Manhattan, NYC, in 1972 after I completed
my M.S. degree at the State University of New York, Buffalo.
After the wedding, we drove to Berkeley, CA to begin
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