Saint Louis University Earthquake Center
Dr. So Gu Kim
Introduction: Robert B. Herrmann, Reinert Chair of Natural Sciences
It is my pleasure to introduce Professor So Gu Kim, a recipient of this award.
When I returned from military service in Vietnam in 1971 to complete my interrupted doctoral studies, I met a new doctoral student, So Gu Kim. For several years we shared a graduate student office and discussed our studies and research.
So Gu had the ability to ask very concise, well-thought questions that would engender much discussion. During his studies he got to know fellow graduate students, such as Ronald Street and Mark Kramer.
So Gu worked under the direction or one of our favorite professors, Otto W. Nuttli. His dissertation, completed in 1976, was titled "Spectral Scaling of Earthquakes in some Eurasian Aftershock Sequences." His studies led to two papers published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
OTTO W. NUTTLI and SO GU KIM Surface-wave magnitudes of Eurasian earthquakes and explosions Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Jun 1975; 65: 693 - 709.
SO GU KIM and OTTO W. NUTTLI Spectral and magnitude characteristics of anomalous Eurasian earthquakes Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Apr 1977; 67: 463 - 478
which were an indication of this future productivity.
Following graduation, So Gu returned to Korea to begin the difficult effort of promoting earthquake science in his country. Through his persistence and exhortation, Korea now has a world-class seismic monitoring system with which to address basic earthquake science, public safety issues and earthquake hazard studies.
Until retirement, he was a professor at Hanyang University in the Republic of Korea and Director of the Korean Seismological Institute.
He has been and continues to be productive, with about 200 publications and presentations and five books.
I wish to congratulate So Gu for receiving this recognition, and thank him for the privilege of knowing him and having had to the opportunity to meet his wife, son and daughter when he was a student.