Jin Au Kong (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

: 孔金甌;

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions ...

: 孔金瓯), (27 December 1942 – 13 March 2008) was an American expert in applied electromagnetics. He was a 74th-generation lineal descendant of the famous Chinese philosopher

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

(551 BC – 479 BC).

Biography

Kong was born in Gaochun,

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

. He received his BS from the National Taiwan University in 1962, his MS from the National Chiao Tung University in 1965, and his PhD from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1968. His PhD thesis supervisor was David K. Cheng. Kong did his postdoctoral research at Syracuse University as well from 1968 to 1969. From 1969 to 1971, he was the Vinton Hayes Postdoctoral Fellow of Engineering. Kong then moved to MIT, where he remained for the rest of his academic career, as assistant professor from 1969 to 1973,

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...

from 1973 to 1980, and promoted to full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

in 1980. From 1977 until his death in 2008, Kong served as a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

high-level consultant to the undersecretary-general, as well as an interregional advisor on

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Ear ...

technology for the United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development. At MIT, Kong supervised about 50 PhD theses and 90 Master theses. From 1984 to 2003, he was the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of Area IV on Energy and Electromagnetic Systems at MIT. From 1989 until 2008, Kong was director of the Center for Electromagnetic Theory and Applications in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. Kong was the founding president of The Electromagnetics Academy from 1989 to 2008. He also founded the Academy's

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

branch at

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

, known as ''The Electromagnetics Academy at Zhejiang University,'' serving as its dean from 2003 to 2008. Kong was also the founding chair of the Progress In Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS), from 1989 to 2008. From 1987 to 2008, he was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the '' Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications''. He was the founding chief editor for ''

Progress in Electromagnetics Research ''Progress in Electromagnetics Research'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all aspects of electromagnetic theory and applications. It was established in 1989 as ''Electromagnetic Waves''. The editors-in-chief are Weng Ch ...

'' (PIER) series (1989–2008), chief editor for ''Progress In Electromagnetics Research (PIER) Letters, B, M, C'' in 2008, and chief editor for ''PIERS Online'' from 2005 to 2008.

Honors and awards

Kong was rewarded with many honors and awards during his life, including: * Fellow, The Electromagnetics Academy *

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

* Fellow, Optical Society of America * Distinguished Achievement Award, from the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, 2000 *

IEEE Electromagnetics Award The IEEE Electromagnetics Award was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1996. This award is presented for outstanding contributions to electromagnetics theory, application or education. It may be presented to an individual only. Rec ...

, 2004 *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from Paris X University Nanterre, 2006

Books

* ''Electromagnetic Wave Theory'', J. A. Kong, EMW Publishing, 1016 pg, 2008 (Previous editions by Wiley-Interscience: 1975, 1986 and 1990 and EMW Publishing: 1998, 2000 and 2005) * ''Maxwell Equations'', J. A. Kong, EMW Publishing, 398 pg, 2002 * ''Theory of Microwave Remote Sensing'', L. Tsang, J. A. Kong and R.T. Shin, Wiley-Interscience, 613 pages, 1985 * ''Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves: Theories and Applications'', L. Tsang, J. A. Kong and K. H. Ding, Wiley-Interscience, 426 pg, 2000 * ''Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves: Numerical Simulations'', L. Tsang, J. A. Kong, K. H. Ding and C. Ao, Wiley-Interscience, 705 pg, 2001 * ''Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves: Advanced Topics'', L. Tsang and J. A. Kong, Wiley-Interscience, 413 pg, 2001 * ''Applied Electromagnetism'', L.C. Shen and J. A. Kong, PWS, 1987 * ''Electromagnetic Waves'', David H. Staelin, Ann W. Morgenthaler and Jin Au Kong, 1993

References

External links

Jin Au Kong's homepage at MIT

* ttp://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/bios/2004electromagnetics.html Jin Au Kong at IEEE {{DEFAULTSORT:Kong, Jin Au 1942 births 2008 deaths Fellow Members of the IEEE Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Academic staff of Zhejiang University Fellows of Optica (society) Scientists from Nanjing Chinese electrical engineers Electrical engineering academics National Chiao Tung University alumni National Taiwan University alumni Syracuse University alumni Chinese non-fiction writers Chinese expatriates in the United States Microwave engineers 20th-century non-fiction writers