Rak-Kyeong Seong
Employment
08.2021 – present
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Associate Professor, 09.2024 - present
Assistant Professor, 08.2021 – 08.2024
Department of Physics
Affiliated Professor, 08.2021 - present
02.2019 – 08.2021
Samsung SDS, Seoul, South Korea
Senior Engineer and Project Manager
AI Advanced Research lab, Samsung R&D Campus Seoul
09.2017 – 01.2019
Tsinghua University
Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Beijing, China
Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track)
10.2016 – 08.2017
Uppsala University
Angstrom Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden
Postdoctoral Researcher
09.2013 – 10.2016
Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), Seoul, South Korea
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
(in fulfillment of the South Korean military service 09.2013 – 09.2016)
Other Affiliations
01.2022 - present
Korea Institute of Advanced Study (KIAS)
Associate Member
01.2025 - present
Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (KSIAM)
Member of the Board of Directors
04.2024 – 03.2025
Institute of Basic Science, Center for Geometry and Physics (IBS-CGP)
External Visiting Fellow
Education
10.2009 – 07.2013
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics (Winton Ph.D. Prize)
Thesis: “Brane Tilings and Quiver Gauge Theories”
Advisor: Professor Amihay Hanany
09.2008 – 07.2009
University of Cambridge, Trinity College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Part III Mathematics
(Master of Advanced Study, MASt; previously known as the Certificate of Advanced Study)
Thesis: “BPS States in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories”
Advisor: Professor David Tong
10.2005 – 07.2008
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Science in Theoretical Physics (B.Sc. Hons)
02.2002 – 07.2005
Schule Schloss Salem, Salem, Germany
International Baccalaureate (IB), Bilingual in English and German (High School Diploma)
2021 - present
Currently, I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Ulsan, South Korea. UNIST is one of the 4 research-focused national universities in South Korea. It is located in Ulsan, which is in the industrial heartland of South Korea.
Photo: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Main Campus)
2019 - 2021
Before joining UNIST as an assistant professor, I was a Senior Researcher at the AI Advanced Research Lab at Samsung SDS in the Samsung R&D Center in Seoul, South Korea. At Samsung SDS, I worked on various applications of AI and Machine Learning to products and services provided by affiliates of the Samsung Group.
Photo: Samsung Seoul R&D Campus
2017 - 2019
My first faculty position as a tenure-track assistant professor was at the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. At Tsinghua University, I taught graduate courses in String Theory and undergraduate courses.
Photo: Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2013 - 2017
My first postdoctoral position was at the Korea Institute of Advanced Study (KIAS) in Seoul, South Korea, where I was a postdoctoral research fellow from 2013 until 2016. My host at KIAS was Professor Piljin Yi. My second postdoctoral position was in the Theoretical Physics Group at the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University in Sweden, where I stayed until 2017. My host at Uppsala University was Professor Guido Festuccia.
Photo: Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), Seoul, Korea
2009 - 2013
Under the supervision of Professor Amihay Hanany, I obtained my Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics as part of the Theoretical Physics Group in the Blackett Laboratory at Imperial College London in 2013. During my Ph.D., I have also worked with Professor Dimitri Vvedensky in the Condensed Matter Physics Group at Imperial College London.
Photo: Theoretical Physics Group, Imperial College London, UK
2005 - 2009
I obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom in 2008. With the support of the Cambridge Overseas Trust, I finished Part III of the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos (Master of Advanced Study in Mathematics) at the University of Cambridge as a member of Trinity College in 2009.
Photo: University of Cambridge, UK
Before 2005
I was born in Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul, South Korea. I attended as a Kurt Hahn Scholarship recipient the international boarding school Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, where I obtained a bilingual (German and English) International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma in 2005.