IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q2 2023 - 6

offer to those looking to grow from a professor to a
leader in academia or industry?
Prof. Kang: I think it was a bold step to move into academic
administration. After being a Project Leader
and Technical Supervisor at AT&T Bell Labs for several
years for high-pressure intensive microprocessor
development projects, my nickname became " captain
smooth " because my colleagues thought I managed coordinating
difficult tasks in harmony while meeting extremely
demanding project goals on time. When I joined
the UIUC ECE Department, its NSF ERC suffered from a
very poor first-year review. The ERC was criticized for
individual faculty members doing their own research
without much collaboration. NSF even threatened to
take away the center. It was a huge crisis. I was asked by
the ECE Department Head, Timothy Trick, to help rescue
the center. To promote and carry out collaborations,
I thought a big testbed that integrates all photonic component
devices under development in ERC and demonstrates
their functionality was needed. Thus, the iPOINT
testbed was born and this new initiative convinced and
even liked by NSF. In 1995, when Timothy Trick wanted
to step down from the department headship after ten
years, I was selected to be the next department head,
perhaps owing to my contribution to the success of the
NSF ERC. It was challenging to serve as a department
head of ECE with more than 100 faculty members. Many
colleagues suggested stopping my research to focus on
administering the largest department on campus. But
my commitment to my students and my zeal for curiosity-driven
research kept my research going. To make
up for lost time in research, I continued maintaining my
weekly meetings with students individually, and each
Tuesday night I met my students from late evening until
early morning, like 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Fortunately,
my students became more independent and still delivered
excellent outcomes. This habit continued throughout
my upper administration as dean and chancellor,
except for KAIST years from 2013 to 2017 during which I
relied on my post-doctoral researcher for co-advising a
few doctoral students at UC Santa Cruz.
Being a university administrator is quite challenging
and requires much sacrifice in research and teaching.
In most small size departments, chairs have a reduced
teaching load and less time for research, and many senior
members are asked to serve. For instance, in the
University of California system, this is the case and rarely
any outsider is recruited to be a department chair. I
think academic leadership is service leadership, which
needs to be shared among senior faculty members. If
more faculty members experienced the chair role, the
whole department would be better off, in my opinion.
6
IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
Question 6: You have been very actively involved in serving
the research community and beyond, holding positions
such as the President of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society,
Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on
VLSI Systems, an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, President
of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council, and serving on
advisory committees for projects in the U.S. and internationally.
What motivates you to take on community service
roles, and how do you believe these roles benefit both
individuals and the community as a whole?
Prof. Kang: In replying to this question, I am reminded
of encouragements I have received from my advisers
and mentors, in particular Professors Leon Chua, Ernest
Kuh, and Charles Desoer at UC Berkeley. Also, I have met
many society leaders and distinguished international
visitors during my graduate studies, and they have been
my role models. I have cherished the role of great leaders,
especially providing a greater good globally beyond
one's own. To mention a few of my influential professional
mentors, Professors Ernest Kuh, Mac Van Valkenburg,
and Timothy Trick were always most kind in providing
advice and encouragement throughout my career. For
IEEE, ACM and other professional society activities,
there are no national boundaries, and we constantly
attempt to exchange ideas and collaborate to find new
knowledge that benefits society.
Question 7: You have achieved a variety of impressive
recognition and awards, such as being a Fellow of IEEE,
ACM, and AAAS, a Member of both the National Academy
of Engineering, Korea and the Korea Academy of
Science and Technology, and have served on the Presidential
Advisory Council on Science and Technology of
the Republic of Korea, and as Chair of the World Economic
Forum's (WEF's) Global Agenda Council for Future
of Electronics. Among your many successes in your
career, which one do you consider your most significant
accomplishment, and what makes it stand out to you?
Prof. Kang: Whereas most of recognitions and honors
I have received are in the field of science and engineering
and higher education, my participation in the
annual WEF held in late January each year in Davos,
Switzerland provided much broader interactions with
many businesses and thought leaders. As President of
KAIST, I was a Member of the Global University Leaders
Forum (GULF) comprised of about 20 members
who are presidents and chancellors of top-tier universities
in the world. Through GULF, I have worked on
networking with diverse education leaders, exchanged
(continued on page 65)
SECOND QUARTER 2023
IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q2 2023

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