KAIST

<Professor S. Josephine Suh>

Professor S. Josephine Suh wins the Frontiers of Science Award for the second consecutive year following last year - Honored for her paper published in November 2017, targeting research papers that have achieved significant results within the last 10 years - Recognized internationally for leading research achievements in the fields of quantum gravity and quantum field theory

KAIST announced on June 12th that a co-authored research paper by Professor S. Josephine Suh of the Department of Physics was selected as a winning paper for the '2026 Frontiers of Science Award' presented by the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS). Professor Suh has won this award for two consecutive years, following her win in 2025.

The Frontiers of Science Award is presented to papers published within the last 10 years in the fields of mathematics, physics, and information science that have achieved outstanding academic originality and impact. The award ceremony will take place during the ICBS event to be held in Beijing, China, in August 2026.

The award-winning paper is "The soft mode in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and its gravity dual," a joint research project between Professor Alexei Kitaev of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Professor S. Josephine Suh.

※ Paper Title: The soft mode in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and its gravity dual, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2018)183)

The SYK (Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev) model is a quantum physics model in which a large number of Majorana fermions (special quantum particles whose particles and antiparticles have identical properties) interact randomly and strongly. Despite being a highly complex quantum many-body system (a system where many particles entangle and interact simultaneously), it allows for mathematically exact analysis. Furthermore, because its characteristics of quantum chaos (chaotic phenomena occurring in quantum systems) are remarkably similar to those of black holes, it has drawn attention as a core theory for understanding the microscopic structure (the fine quantum states that make up a black hole) of black holes.

The award-winning paper demonstrated that the physical properties displayed by the SYK model in a low-energy state precisely connect with two-dimensional gravity theory (a gravity model simplified by leaving only one dimension each for space and time). This research has since become a core theoretical foundation for black hole and quantum gravity research, establishing itself as one of the most widely cited representative papers in the relevant field.

In addition, the SYK model is utilized as a representative theoretical model to explain how information is stored and disappears inside a black hole, drawing attention as a key research topic for solving conundrums in modern physics.

The 'Frontiers of Science Award' is an international academic award that the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) has been presenting since 2023. The Global Committee makes the final selection of winning works through recommendations and evaluations from experts worldwide.

In its official notification of selection, the ICBS stated, "Professor Suh's research has made an outstanding contribution to the field of Formal Quantum Field Theory*," adding, "The researcher's dedication to expanding the boundaries of human knowledge provides great inspiration to the scientific community."

*Formal Quantum Field Theory: A field of theoretical physics that explores the mathematical principles and structures of quantum field theory, which explains the fundamental particles and forces of the universe.

Professor S. Josephine Suh said, "The research in this paper was a work showing how a specific quantum many-body system and gravity theory correspond at a microscopic level," and added, "The research currently underway seeks to obtain a physical understanding of how spacetime is generated from a quantum many-body system based on this correspondence."

The total prize money for this award is $25,000 (approximately 33 million KRW), which is shared jointly among the authors of the winning paper.

Reference: Official website of the Frontiers of Science Award: https://www.icbs.cn