Heriot-Watt mathematician Minhyong Kim honoured with Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship
A mathematician at Heriot-Watt University has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters.
The Fellowship recognises Professor Minhyong Kim as one of the most distinguished scientists in his field.
Professor Kim is Director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, which supports research in mathematical sciences in the UK and is jointly owned by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh. Professor Kim is also the Sir Edmund Whittaker Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and Professor of Mathematics Heriot-Watt University, where he is based in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) was established in 1783 to deploy knowledge for public good, including helping to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. Its Fellowships recognise individual excellence in fields including physics, chemistry, informatics, literature, law, social sciences, and business.
Professor Kim said: “It is a great honour to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. I am very proud to join such an esteemed community of great minds.”
Minhyong Kim’s work focuses on arithmetic geometry – the study of spaces built out of finitely-generated systems of numbers. The RSE said his main contribution to mathematics was the so-called Chabauty-Kim theory, which involves topology and arithmetic of polynomial equations. He also works on mathematical physics, especially topological quantum field theory.
Professor Kim grew up in Seoul, studied at Seoul National University, then received his PhD at Yale University. He moved on to faculty positions at numerous institutions including MIT, Columbia, Purdue, the Korea Institute for Advanced Study, UCL, and Oxford, where he was head of the number theory research group.
Professor Kim will join around 1,800 RSE Fellows who are leading experts in the sciences, arts, business, professions and the third and public sectors, with links to Scotland. Past Fellows of the RSE include theoretical physicist Peter Higgs, James Clerk Maxwell, who is most famous for his theory of electromagnetism, and American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin.
The work of RSE Fellows involves sharing their knowledge and expertise across multiple disciplines. This includes providing informed policy advice to government bodies and working in multidisciplinary teams to address complex challenges in areas like the economy, education and the environment.
To be elected as an RSE Fellow, candidates are assessed across three dimensions of excellence – outstanding achievement, professional standing and societal contribution. Accepting a Fellowship involves devoting time and effort to the Society’s mission of making knowledge made useful, whether at a local, national or international level.
Professor Kim’s Fellowship is one of more than 40 2025 Fellowships announced by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Other recipients include His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh – Prince Edward – Hubble Telescope scientist, Professor Asad Madni; cartoonist and artist Kate Charlesworth; Professor Patricia Findlay, professor of work and employment relations at the University of Strathclyde and David Field, Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park.
President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Professor Sir John Ball PRSE, said: “It is my sincere pleasure to welcome each of our new Fellows – from the worlds of academia, public service, business, and the arts – to Scotland’s National Academy.
“They represent excellence in their fields and will reinforce our ability to tackle the challenges that Scotland, and indeed the wider world, faces now and in the future.
“Across a range of disciplines, they have each shown an unshakeable commitment to their research, work or craft, and it is exactly this superlative level of accomplishment that makes them belong as Fellows of the RSE.”