News 2014: UMass Dartmouth Celebrates First Graduate from New Doctoral Program

News 2014: UMass Dartmouth Celebrates First Graduate from New Doctoral Program
UMass Dartmouth Celebrates First Graduate from New Doctoral Program

Sung Hoon Kim Earns Ph.D. from University's Engineering and Applied Science Program

UMass Dartmouth is proud to announce the first graduate of its Engineering and Applied Science Ph.D. program. Sung Hoon Kim, a student in Physics Department within UMass Dartmouth's College of the Engineering, completed all doctoral degree requirements of the Computational Science and Engineering track. Kim's dissertation advisor is Chancellor Professor Jong-Ping Hsu and his thesis title is "Investigation of the Graviton Self-Energy with General Gauge in Yang-Mills Gravity." 

Kim's doctoral research demonstrates that gravity -- the most familiar yet least understood force of Nature -- can be formulated (much like the other known forces) in terms of mathematical constructs called "gauge symmetries." His work, therefore, contributes to a very fundamental understanding of gravitation.   

The Engineering and Applied Science doctoral degree program at UMass Dartmouth was approved by the Board of Higher Education in 2011 and began enrolling students in the Spring 2012 semester. The educational goal of this program is to prepare qualified scientists and engineers who can contribute significantly to society through their professional, scientific and research activities. This interdisciplinary program currently has 22 active students enrolled in several departments across the University, including the Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer and Information Science, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics Departments. The program offers four different tracks or options based on a variety of diverse areas of focus in scientific research. The program is administered by the College of Engineering and the Office of Graduate Studies at UMass Dartmouth.   

Kim is a native of South Korea and has returned to his home country to pursue academic research opportunities. The Engineering and Applied Science Ph.D. program was developed in support of the University's strategic goal to achieve Carnegie Doctoral Research University status by 2020. For additional information on this program, please visit the program website or contact Dr. Gaurav Khanna (gkhanna@umassd.edu) of the Physics Department who serves as its Graduate Program Director.