physics

Nam Chang-hee

Nam Chang-hee is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nam Chang-hee rather than just read about it. In short: Nam Chang-hee (Korean: 남창희; born February 14, 1957) is a South Korean plasma physicist. Nam is specializing in the exploration of relativistic laser-matter interactions using femtosecond PW lasers.

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Reference excerpt

Nam Chang-hee (Korean: 남창희; born February 14, 1957) is a South Korean plasma physicist. Nam is specializing in the exploration of relativistic laser-matter interactions using femtosecond PW lasers. Currently he is professor of physics at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and director of the Center for Relativistic Laser Science as a part of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).

Biography Nam studied nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, where he obtained his B.Sc. in 1977. After that he received a M.Sc. in physics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 1979. Entering the classroom as an instructor, he taught at Pusan National University until 1982. Enrolling at Princeton University, he moved to the United States, where he later received a Ph.D. in plasma physics in 1988. He stayed in Princeton for a year working as a staff research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. In 1989, he began working as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics in KAIST, where he was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and full professor in 1998. From 1999, he was also director of the Coherent X-ray Research Center at KAIST where he researched ultrafast laser science. He left KAIST in 2012 to become a professor at the Department of Physics and Photon Science at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and the founding director of the Center for Relativistic Laser Science, a research center at GIST with funding provided by the Institute for Basic Science.

Academic work Nam has published more than 120 journal papers and gives invited talks in international conferences. He served as a steering committee member of OECD Global Science Forum on Compact High-Intensity Short-Pulse Lasers (2001-2003) that eventually became ICUIL (Int. Comm. on Ultra-high Intensity Lasers) - a working group of IUPAP, and is a scientific advisory committee member of ELI - ALPS (Extreme Light Infrastructure/ Attosecond Light Pulse Source) – the EU program for the PW laser facility in Hungary started from 2011. He has served as conference chairs (ICXRL in 2010, ISUILS in 2012), organizing chairs (APLS in 2008, 2010, 2012) or program chairs (CLEO-Pacific Rim in 2007, 2009). He is on the editorial boards of J. Phys. B as an international advisory committee member since 2007 and as a guest editor in 2012; IEEE Photonics Journal as an associate editor (from 2009 to 2011). He has represented Korea in international committees (ICQE from 2005 to 2012; CLEO-PR from 2012; Commission on Quantum Electronics of IUPAP since 2008). He has been instrumental in launching the Asian Intense Laser Network in 2004, serving as the first secretary

Awards 2025: ISUILS Medal, International Symposium on Ultrafast Intense Laser Science (ISUILS 2025) 2020: Presidential Citation, Government Science Day Award, Ministry of Science and ICT 2011: Sungdo Optical Science Award of the Optical Society Korea 2010: National Academy of Sciences Award, Korea 2009: Fellow of the Optical Society of America 2008: Fellow of the American Physical Society 2002: Scientist of the Month, Ministry of Science and ICT and National Research Foundation of Korea

Further reading Kim, Kyung Taec; Ko, Dong Hyuk; Park, Juyun; Choi, Nark Nyul; Kim, Chul Min; Kenichi, Ishikawa L.; Lee, Jongmin; Nam, Chang Hee (2012). "Amplitude and phase reconstruction of electron wave packets for probing ultrafast photoionization dynamics". Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 (9) 093001. Bibcode:2012PhRvL.108i3001K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.093001. PMID 22463629. S2CID 21937409. Kim, Kyung Taec; Ko, Dong Hyuk; Park, Juyun; Tosa, Valer; Nam, Chang Hee (2010). "Complete temporal reconstruction of attosecond high-harmonic pulse trains". New J. Phys. 12 (8) 083019. Bibcode:2010NJPh...12h3019T. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/083019. Ko, Dong Hyuk; Kim, Kyung Taec; Park, Juyun; Lee, Jae-hwan; Nam, Chang Hee (2010). "Attosecond chirp compensation over broadband high-order harmonics to generate near transform-limited 63-as pulses". New J. Phys. 12 (6) 063008. Bibcode:2010NJPh...12f3008K. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/6/063008. Park, J.; Lee, J.-H.; Nam, C. H. (2009). "Generation of 1.5-cycle 0.3-TW laser pulses using a hollow-fiber pulse compressor". Opt. Lett. 34 (15): 2342–4. Bibcode:2009OptL...34.2342P. doi:10.1364/OL.34.002342. PMID 19649091. Kim, Kyung Taec; Kang, Kyung Sik; Park, Mi Na; Imran, Tayyab; Umesh, G.; Nam, Chang Hee (2007). "Self-Compression of Attosecond High-order Harmonic Pulses". Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (22) 223904. Bibcode:2007PhRvL..99v3904K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.223904. PMID 18233288. Kim, I Jong; Min Kim, Chul; Taek Kim, Hyung; Hwang Lee, Gae; Soo Lee, Yong; Yun Park, Ju; Hee Nam, Chang (2005). "Highly efficient high-harmonic generation in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field". Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 (24) 243901. Bibcode:2005PhRvL..94x3901K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.243901. Kim, Kyung Taec; Kim, Chul Min; Baik, Moon-Gu; Umesh, G.; Nam, Chang Hee (2004). "Single sub-50-attosecond pulse generation from chirp-compensated harmonic radiation using material dispersion". Phys. Rev. A. 69 (5) 051805. Bibcode:2004PhRvA..69e1805K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.69.051805. Lee, D. G.; Kim, J.-H.; Hong, K. H.; Nam, C. H. (2001). "Coherent control of high-order harmonics with chirped femtosecond laser pulses". Phys. Rev. Lett. 87 (24) 243902. Bibcode:2001PhRvL..87x3902L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.243902. PMID 11736503. S2CID 32618327. Shin, Hyun Joon; Lee, Dong Gun; Cha, Yong Ho; Hong, Kyung Han; Nam, Chang Hee (1999). "Generation of Nonadiabatic Blueshift of High Harmonics in an Intense Femtosecond Laser Field". Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 (13): 2544–2547. Bibcode:1999PhRvL..83.2544S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.2544. Nam, C.H.; Tighe, W.; Suckewer, S.; Seely, J.F.; Feldman, U.; Woltz, L.A. (1987). "Observation of Asymmetric Stark Profiles from Plasma Created by a Picosecond KrF Laser". Phys. Rev. Lett. 59 (21): 2427–2430. Bibcode:1987PhRvL..59.2427N. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.59.2427. PMID 10035548.

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nam Chang-hee

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nam Chang-hee claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nam Chang-hee before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nam Chang-hee ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nam Chang-hee

In research: Nam Chang-hee appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nam Chang-hee in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nam Chang-hee is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 21st-century physicists, Academic staff of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nam Chang-hee outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

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