Moo-Young Han (November 30, 1934 – May 15, 2016) was a South Korean-born American physicist. He was a professor of physics at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. Along with

Yoichiro Nambu was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago. Known for his groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics, Nambu was the originator of the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking, a concept that revoluti ...

of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, he is credited with introducing the

SU(3) In mathematics, the special unitary group of degree , denoted , is the Lie group of unitary matrices with determinant 1. The matrices of the more general unitary group may have complex determinants with absolute value 1, rather than real 1 i ...

symmetry of

quarks A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly o ...

, today known as the

color charge Color charge is a property of quarks and gluons that is related to the particles' strong interactions in the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Like electric charge, it determines how quarks and gluons interact through the strong force; ho ...

. The color charge is the basis of the

strong force In nuclear physics and particle physics, the strong interaction, also called the strong force or strong nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions. It confines quarks into protons, neutrons, and other hadron particles, an ...

as explained by

quantum chromodynamics In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the study of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type of ...

Early life and career

Han was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. He emigrated to the US after the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

to attend

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1964 and joined the physics faculty at Duke University, Durham NC in 1967. He is survived by his wife, Chang Ki, three children, Grace Hewon, Christopher Su-Young, and Anthony Suh-Young, and an array of grandchildren.

Career

Han received his Ph.D. in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

in 1964 from the

. Han's research specialty is in the field of theoretical particle physics, with an emphasis on the symmetry principles of elementary particle physics. Han and

of the

first introduced a new hidden symmetry among quarks in 1965. This is the origin of the color SU(3) symmetry, distinct from the symmetry among hadrons which is the flavor SU(3). This SU(3) symmetry is the basis for the quantum chromodynamics (

QCD In theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in ...

) which is now the standard theory for the strong nuclear force sector of the

Standard Model The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...

. Nambu shared 2008

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

in Physics for a related work on applying the mechanism of spontaneously broken symmetry, enabling the electroweak sector of the

. From 1993 to 1995, Han served as the inaugurating chair of the Outstanding Young Researcher Award (OYRA) Committee of AKPA. He is a recipient of the 1998 Global Korea Award by the Council on Korean Studies of the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He delivered the keynote address at the 2001 Asian Pacific Heritage Month Celebration at the US-

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina in May, 2001. The title of his keynote address was "The New New World." Han is the founding chairman of the Society of Korean-American Scholars (SKAS) and since then, he has served as its editor-in-chief n SKAS. He publishes two alternating weekly electronic newsletters, KASTN and IEKAS, the Korean American Science and Technology News and the Information Exchange for Korean American Scholars. In the fall of 2008, Han left the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

at Merced and delivered a special seminar explaining the spontaneously broken symmetry of Y. Nambu that earned Nambu the 2008

in Physics. Leaving the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

in Korea in the fall of 2009, Han delivered a colloquium titled "Nambu and the

" and taught a special course titled "Physics for Humanities and Social Sciences Course." In the fall of 2013, Han spent his time at

KAIST KAIST (originally the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is a national university, national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the ...

(

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology KAIST (originally the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is a national university, national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the ...

) in Daejeon, South Korea and completed his fifth and sixth books. He also served as an adjunct professor of physics at

Publications

Han is the author of 5 books and editor of a collection of papers on

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

and advanced technology: *''The Secret Life Of Quanta'' (1990, McGraw-Hill) *''The Probable Universe'' (1993, McGraw-Hill) *''Quarks And Gluons'' (1999, World Scientific) *''A Story Of Light: A Short Introduction to

Quantum Field Theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

of Quarks and Leptons'' (2004, World Scientific). *''From Photons to Higgs: A Story of Light'' (2014, World Scientific). *''Nambu: A Foreteller of Modern Physics'' (2014, World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics, Vol.43).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Moo-Young 1934 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists Duke University faculty South Korean emigrants to the United States South Korean physicists Theoretical physicists University of Rochester alumni