Hye-Sung Lee
Contact:
Office : Room 3308, Building E6-2, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
Telephone : +82-42-350-7317
Email : hyesung.lee(AT)kaist.ac.kr
Group : Particle Theory Group (Room 4320 in E6-2, +82-42-350-7357)
Curriculum Vitae : updated in August 2025
Introduction:
I study theoretical particle physics, which is about the fundamental building blocks of our universe and how they interact with each other.
My major research interests are in the fundamental interactions of nature. Mostly, I study new gauge symmetries as physics beyond the standard model. A new gauge interaction might be important in understanding the dark matter sector as well as the dark energy sector in the universe. Since we do not know where this new fundamental force is hidden or what it couples to, a proper investigation requires studying broad areas of particle physics. I am also interested in the formal aspects of the strong interaction (QCD), which is well-known but still mysterious because of its non-perturbative nature. As an extended research area, I am also interested in the physics explanation of deep learning.
My research in the news media: Yonhap News (March 2017), ET News (March 2017), MK News (April 2017), Issue Maker (May 2017), etc.
I have helped launch and organize Light Dark World International Forums annually since 2016.
Grant Awards: NRF Strategic Research from November 2017, NRF Basic Research from 2020, NRF Mid-Career Research from 2021, NRF Mid-Career Research from 2024.
Teaching: General Physics II (PH.10042) in Spring 2025 as the General Physics Coordinator. (Courses offered, Academic calendar)
Research:
My Research Interests: Particle Theory (especially, physics beyond the standard model)
New fundamental interactions
New physics models for dark matter and dark energy
New physics in neutrino sector
Physics explanation of neural networks
My Publications: 76 papers (66 regular papers + 10 reports; over 4600 citations; h-index = 33)
My Presentations: 103 presentations (complete list)
Career:
Education:
My academic genealogy (- Fermi - Goldberger - Kazes - Barger - Lee)
Ph.D in Physics (Particle Theory) at University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005
M.S. in Physics at KAIST, 1998
B.S. in Physics at KAIST, 1996
Experience:
Associate Professor in Physics department at KAIST, 2024-Present
Assistant Professor in Physics department at KAIST, 2017-2024
Fellow in Theory group at CERN, 2014-2015
Joint Postdoc at William and Mary & Jefferson Lab, 2012-2014
Postdoc in High energy theory group at Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2009-2012
Postdoc in Particle physics group at UC Riverside, 2008-2009
Postdoc in High energy theory group at University of Florida, 2005-2008
Service:
Referee for PRL (since 2006), PRD (since 2006), JCAP (since 2008), EJPC (since 2016), PDG (since 2017)
Auditor of Association of Korean Physicists in America (AKPA), 2013-2015
Member of Executive Committee and Publicity&Editorial Committee of AKPA, 2009-2011
The Z' Hunter's Guide (online introduction to Z' physics that I made as a graduate student)
Links:
Physics Information:
INSPIRE, HEP Reviews, Conferences, arXiv (time), ISI, KHEP list
Journals: PRX, PRL, PRD, PLB, JHEP, JCAP, Nature Physics, Journal Impact Factors
Jobs: Academic Jobs, INSPIRE Jobs, Faculty rumors, Postdoc rumors, Physics Today Jobs, KPS DPF
Meetings: Conferences and Meetings, INSPIRE Conferences
Lectures: Coleman Lectures (Note), Feynman Lectures, Langacker Book
International Prizes: Nobel, Sakurai, Dirac, Breakthrough, Gravitation essay
Domestic Prizes: Hoam, Korea Science, Korea Top Scientist, Scientist of the Month, POSCO, Kyung Ahm, Hanseong
Funding: NRF (system), Samsung S&T foundation
Last Modified: August 2025