Former UW-Madison professor Sangtae Kim will become executive director of the new Morgridge Institute for Research, the university announced Thursday.
Kim, who is currently a chemical and mechanical engineering professor at Purdue University, will assume his new role on Oct. 1.
The twin Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, set to open in 2010 on the 1300 block of University Avenue, will house the private Morgridge Institute and the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. UW alumni John and Tashia Morgridge, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the state of Wisconsin each contributed $50 million for the new research institutes.
Kim's educational qualifications include a bachelor's and master's science degree from the California Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in chemical and biological engineering from Princeton University.
The incoming executive director was a member of UW-Madison's faculty from 1995-'97, and served as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Former UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, who will become the interim director of the public WID on Nov. 1, said he has known Kim since the mid-1980s. Wiley said the two worked closely in the chemical engineering department, and he is pleased with Kim's appointment as executive director of the private MIR.
I was disappointed when he didn't return here after he left the private sector '¦ but we managed to get him back so I'm real happy about that,"" Wiley said. ""He's not just adequate for the job, he's maybe ideally suited for it '¦ I couldn't think of anyone better.""
The Morgridge Institute is expected to furbish cutting-edge technology and yield breakthrough discoveries under Kim's oversight.
""The Morgridge Institute, and the university as a whole, will be well served by Sang Kim's unique talents and experience,"" UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn ""Biddy"" Martin said in a statement. ""We also believe he will prove a major asset as the university works to attract and retain faculty members of the very highest caliber.
