Jin Au Kong (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 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), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: 孔金瓯; 27 December 1942 – 13 March 2008) was a Taiwanese-American electrical engineer. He was an expert in applied

electromagnetics In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

. He was a 74th-generation lineal descendant of the famous Chinese philosopher

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

(551 BC – 479 BC).

Biography

Kong was born in Gaochun,

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from the

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

in 1962, his

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

from the

National Chiao Tung University National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) was a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After the Chinese ...

in 1965, and his Ph.D. from

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

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 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, where he remained for the rest of his academic career, as

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

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''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

from 1973 to 1980, and promoted to full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

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

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 physical object, 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 inform ...

technology for the United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development. At MIT and later Zhejiang University, Kong supervised about 50 PhD theses and 90 Master theses. Among Kong's PhD graduates were Leung Tsang, Weng Chew, Tarek Habashy, Shun-Lien Chuang, Apo Sezginer, Robert Shin, Jay K Lee, Eni Njoku, Michael Zuniga, Jean-Fu Kiang, Maurice Borgeaud, Soon Poh, Simon Yueh, Son Nghiem, Yaqiu Jin, Eric Yang, William Au, Joel Johnson, Chi On Ao, Henning Braunisch, Bae Ian Wu, Xudong Chen, Baile Zhang, Hongsheng Chen, etc. . From 1984 to 2003, he was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, 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 gro ...

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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

branch at

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, 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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the ''

Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications The ''Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis in 18 issues per year. It covers electromagnetic wave theory and its applications, including but not limited to wave prop ...

''. 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 title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

* Fellow,

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

* 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. Reci ...

, 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 hon ...

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

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080317230742/http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/bios/2004electromagnetics.html Jin Au Kong at IEEE {{DEFAULTSORT:Kong, Jin Au 1942 births 2008 deaths Fellows 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 American microwave engineers 20th-century non-fiction writers Metamaterials scientists Descendants of Confucius American people of Taiwanese descent Taiwanese expatriates in the United States

Biography

Honors and awards

Books

See also

References

External links