• Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, President, CTO of the Device eXperience (DX) Division and Head of Samsung Research
• Younsun Kim, Master at Samsung Research
• Timothy Hospedales, Head of Samsung Research’s Europe AI Center
• Michael Scott Brown, Head of Samsung Research’s AI Center in Toronto
• Yuri Masuoka, Fellow and Head of the SRAM Lab in the Foundry Business of the Device Solutions (DS) Division

The title of ‘IEEE Fellow’ is the highest membership grade and, following a thorough review process, is granted annually to the top 0.1% of IEEE members who have demonstrated significant contributions to societal advancement. Those with at least ten years of experience in their fields are chosen based on seven evaluation criteria, including outstanding research and development achievements, contributions to the industry and expertise in the field.

Achievements in Telecommunications and Standardization of 5G Mobile Communication

▲ President Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun (left) and Master Younsun Kim (right)

Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun was appointed as a Fellow in recognition of his leadership in 5G and virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) technologies.

Having joined Samsung Electronics in 2012 and serving as head of the Network Business Division, Cheun is a telecommunications technology expert who has led the development of core technologies and commercial solutions for 5G. He has contributed to the global network business by successfully commercializing the world’s first 5G mobile communication technology.

“Being appointed as an IEEE Fellow is an honor,” said President Cheun. “Samsung Electronics will dedicate itself more to innovative technology research and development that will lead the future, taking the initiative in technological advancements that add value and provide convenience and enrichment to people’s daily lives.”

Younsun Kim received IEEE recognition for contributions and leadership in 5G physical layer standardization. He has served as both the vice chair and chair of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Radio Access Network Working Group 1 (RAN WG1) for the past seven years, and is currently preparing for 6G RAN standardization which will be fully launched starting from next year.

Newly Elevated Fellows in Machine Learning, Cameras and Foundry

▲ (From left) Timothy Hospedales, Michael Scott Brown and Yuri Masuoka

Timothy Hospedales received Fellowship honors for his contributions to data-efficient machine learning and meta-learning. Hospedales, who joined Samsung Electronics in 2019, is a machine learning and data intelligence expert. Currently, he oversees Samsung Research’s overall research and development of AI across Europe at the AI Center located in Cambridge, U.K..

Michael Scott Brown contributed to in-camera color image processing to a degree that led to the IEEE naming him a Fellow. Brown, joined Samsung Electronics in 2019 and is an expert in computer vision, currently overseeing research and development at the AI Center in Toronto.

Yuri Masuoka was also named to the IEEE Fellow Class of 2025 for her contributions to leading-edge foundry transistor development.

Samsung Electronics has previously had several IEEE Fellows in various fields, including Executive Vice President Sunghyun Choi of the Network Business, Fellow Juho Lee of Samsung Research and Senior Vice President Charlie Zhang of Samsung Research.

¹ The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest professional organization dedicated to the advancement of technology related to electricity, electronics, computing, and telecommunications. With over 460,000 members from more than 190 countries, IEEE actively manages over 2,250 ongoing projects.

▲ Juho Lee, a fellow at Samsung Research, won the Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award from IEEE ComSoc at the GLOBECOM 2023 conference on December 5.

Juho Lee, a fellow at Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub Samsung Research (SR), received a Career Award for his outstanding leadership and technical contributions in standardization of wireless communication from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) — the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

In recognition of his leadership and pivotal role in the development and standardization of global mobile communication technologies, Lee won the inaugural Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award established this year by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc). Lee was the sole recipient of the award, honoring his outstanding contributions to the industry.

The winners of IEEE ComSoc Career Awards are selected through a rigorous judging process, with 14 judges deliberating over candidates for two months. Recipients were recognized at an award ceremony on December 5 at the 2023 IEEE Global Communications (GLOBECOM) conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lee has been leading research and standardization of mobile communication technology since 2000 when the commercialization of 3G smartphones began. From February 2003 to August 2009, Lee served as vice chair of the Radio Access Network Working Group 1 (RAN WG1) at the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) — a global mobile communications standardization organization — where he contributed to the standardization of 4G LTE technology. In 2018, Lee was elected as an IEEE Fellow, a distinction reserved for top IEEE members who have accomplished extraordinary achievements.

“It is an honor to be named the first winner of the IEEE ComSoc Excellence in Supporting Standardization for Communications Award,” he said. “Going forward, I will continue to research, develop and standardize advanced mobile communications technologies such as 5G and 6G technology.”

Lee joins the prestigious ranks of previous Samsung executives who have also been recipients of IEEE ComSoc Career Awards. Former Samsung Vice Chairman Ki-Tae Lee, who played an instrumental role in the development of Samsung’s Anycall mobile phone series, was awarded the IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Industry Leader Award in 2004. Former Samsung Vice Chairman Jong-Kyun Shin, who made the world’s first color phone, received the same award in 2016.

A leader in mobile communication technology standardization, Samsung Research holds a total of six officials in the 3GPP: two chairs and four vice chairs. In July 2020, Samsung published “The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All,” a 6G white paper outlining the company’s vision for the next era of communication. Samsung and Samsung Research’s experts are vigorously working to realize the commercialization of 6G around 2030.

▲ (From left) Dr. Daniel Ahn, EVP and Head of Mobile Platform Center, MX Business and Dr. Michael Polley, SVP and Head of MPI Lab at SRA

The highest grade awarded by the IEEE, the “Fellow” title is conferred by the institute’s Board of Directors when a person demonstrates an outstanding record of accomplishment in any of the IEEE’s fields of interest. The total number of fellows selected in any one year cannot exceed 0.1 percent of the organization’s total voting membership.

Other members of Samsung Electronics who have been named as IEEE Fellows in the past include: Chairman of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology Kinam Kim, Executive Vice President and Samsung Research AI Center head Daniel Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center Sunghyun Choi, Senior Vice President Charlie Zhang of Samsung Research America, Vice President Xue (Steve) Liu of the Samsung AI Center (SAIC) in Montreal and Fellow Juho Lee of Samsung Research.

Dr. Ahn is Executive Vice President and Head of the MX Business’ Mobile Platform Center. His contributions include providing users with differentiated mobile experiences through the development of innovative security solutions for Galaxy smartphones, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based mobile platform function expansion and enhancement.

“I am both honored and humbled being elevated to IEEE Fellow,” said Dr. Ahn. “I will continuously devote myself to achieve technological advancements that would eventually help improve our products and provide better and meaningful experiences to our valued customers.”

Dr. Polley is Senior Vice President and Head of the Mobile Processor Innovation (MPI) Lab at SRA, where he leads a team of world-class algorithm and system designers focused on creating advanced technologies for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones as well as next-generation mobile devices.

“I feel honored to be elected as an IEEE Fellow,” said Dr. Polley, “I am pleased that the innovative camera technology research that the MPI Lab at SRA, R&D team at MX Business and Samsung Research India-Bangalore Research Institute have worked closely together on to achieve is being recognized.”

¹ Samsung Research, acting as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

“Fellow” is the highest grade awarded by the IEEE, and is conferred by the institute’s Board of Directors when a person demonstrates an outstanding record of accomplishment in any of the IEEE’s fields of interest. The total number of fellows selected in any one year cannot exceed 0.1 percent of the organization’s total voting membership.

Dr. Liu is Vice President and Chief Scientist at Samsung’s Montreal AI Center. He develops novel AI solutions for real-world applications like the intelligent automation of 5G networks and has made tremendous contributions to performance and power management advancements in the areas of computing and networking systems.

In his work, Dr. Liu applies insights from a wide range of disciplines, including feedback control, optimization, and machine learning, to lead research in the fields of performance and power management of data centers and networked servers. This line of pioneering research, which helps complex systems adapt to highly dynamic workloads and diverse conditions, has influenced many subsequent research efforts in both academia and industry.

“I am both honored and humbled to be granted the grade of IEEE Fellow,” said Dr. Liu, “I am grateful to my colleagues and the community members who have recognized my contributions, and will continue to devote myself to the development of the AI technologies that will enable intelligent systems to better complement people’s everyday lives.”

Dr. Liu received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and M.E. in Automatic Control from Tsinghua University in 1996 and 1999 respectively, then completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006. He has been a professor of Computer Science at McGill University since 2007, and a William Dawson Scholar since 2014. Dr. Liu is a recipient of several awards, including the Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership – Professor from MITACS, the Outstanding Young Computer Science Researcher Award from the Canadian Association of Computer Science, and the Tomlinson Science Award from McGill University.

Other members of Samsung Electronics who have been named as IEEE Fellows in the past include: Vice Chairman, CEO and head of the Device Solutions Division Kinam Kim, Executive Vice President and Samsung Research New York AI Center head Daniel Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center Sunghyun Choi, Vice President Jianzhong (Charlie) Zhang of Samsung Research America (SRA), and Fellow Juho Lee of Samsung Research.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed 0.1 percent of the total voting membership. Among the membership, IEEE Fellow is the highest grade and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Master Lee is a representative expert of Samsung in the research and standardization of mobile communication technologies. He has made tremendous contributions on 3G, 4G, and 5G over the last 18 years, including incorporation of essential technologies into standards. From February 2003 to August 2008, he was a Vice Chairman of RAN1 working group of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global telecommunications standards organization, and led the standardization of 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies.

In developing 5G standards, Master Lee has been representing Samsung and has made a crucial role to set up the standardization plan and to develop detailed standards. The 5G network is currently in the process of commercialization and can be characterized by the ultra-high speed of 20 Gbps, ultra-low latency of 0.001 second, and ultra-reliability of 99.999 percent. Because of these advances, 5G is expected to help provide unprecedented communication quality and create new services such as smart factory and vehicular communication.

Master Lee received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, in 1993, 1995, and 2000, respectively. He is currently leading the research and standardization of 5G technologies in the Standard Research Team of Samsung Research.

“I am honored to be named IEEE Fellow as the recognition of my contributions during the last 18 years for evolution and standardization of mobile communications from 3G to 5G” said Master Lee. “I will continue to devote myself to the commercialization and further enhancement of 5G technologies as well as advanced research toward 6G.”

Samsung Electronics has other IEEE Fellows who were named in the past years as follows: Vice Chairman and CEO Kinam Kim of DS Division, Executive Vice President Daniel Lee of Samsung Research New York AI Center, and Vice President Jianzhong Zhang of Samsung Research America (SRA).