Sung Wan and Hee Kyung Kim Presidential Endowed Chair

Sung Wan Kim was born and raised in Busan, South Korea. He grew up in a family that valued education, and he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and master’s in physical chemistry from Seoul National University in 1963 and 1965, respectively. In 1966, he moved to the United States to continue his education under Henry Eyring, PhD, at the University of Utah, where Kim received his PhD in 1969. Kim entered the groundbreaking fields of biomaterials and medicinal chemistry and became a biopolymer drug and gene delivery pioneer.

In addition to his positions as a distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry and bioengineering at the U, Kim was a distinguished professor at Hanyang University. Since 1974, he has published more than 500 papers, trained 130 students and postdocs, and been a pillar in the College of Pharmacy.

Kim holds 38 patents and has generated over $30 million in research funds. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 1999 and the National Academy of Engineering in 2003. He has received numerous awards, including the Research Achievement Award—Pharmaceutical Sciences World Conference, the University of Utah's Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Dale Wurster Award. Kim was also the founder of three biotech companies that worked to improve the lives of people worldwide. Kim credits his wife, Hee Kyung, for making his professional success and accomplishments possible.