A South Korean aerospace engineering professor has received the Plasma and Lasers Award from the renowned U.S. society for aerospace engineering. 

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics awarded Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor Park Chul for his contribution to the research of the plasma state and lasers related to aeronautics and astronautics.

The annual award was presented to Park at the 42nd AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference held June 27-30 in the U.S.

Park has been leading plasma dynamics and lasers research since he came to the KAIST in March 2003.

It is the second time for Park to receive award from the American institute. He won the thermal physics award in 1994.

He began his research career at the NASA in 1964. He participated in the Apollo program, which was later to see man land on the moon.

His 1990 book, titled “Non-equilibrium Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics,” is often used as a graduate school textbook in the field of aerospace engineering.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)