In Memory of Professor Jun-Koo Kang

I was deeply saddened to learn that my supervisor, Professor Jun-Koo Kang, passed away this morning in Korea. The news came so suddenly that it is still difficult to fully process.

Many people in our field believed that I would be his last PhD student and that he would retire after supervising me.. I never took that statement seriously before. Now, it is something I find myself unable to forget.

I joined Nanyang Technological University in the fall of 2022 to begin my PhD. Professor Kang showed great interest in the research proposal I submitted in his class, and I did not hesitate to choose him as my advisor. That decision marked the beginning of my academic journey.

He was always patient in guiding me. After my senior graduated in 2023, I became his only student. At times, we would have meals together with visiting students from other universities and discuss research. I still remember one time after lunch when it was raining heavily, he insisted that we, the two students, take the umbrella, while he walked back to his office alone in the rain.

He guided me through every detail with extraordinary patience, deriving formulas, drawing figures, and refining ideas step by step. Every time I met with him, he would hand me pages of handwritten notes, often filling two full sheets.

I now find myself thinking about how I could have done more. I could have worked harder, made faster progress, and shared more good news with him while I still had the chance.

In our last online meeting, I was looking forward to seeing him again at a conference in Korea this summer. It is painful to realize that this meeting will never take place.

There is little I can do now except to continue the work he cared about with the same seriousness and dedication he showed. I will do my best to carry forward the papers we worked on together and bring them to completion.

What he taught me about research and about what it means to be a scholar will remain with me in everything I do.

Xinyao HE

24Apr2026