With over 6000 people collaborating internationally, the CMS experiment has named Tae-Jeong Kim as Deputy Spokesperson for the period of 2026-2028. Kim, a full Professor at Hanyang University, brings extensive experience to the role, including prior research specifically searching for a doubly charged Higgs boson at the D0 experiment at the Tevatron. He also served as a Physics Analysis Tool coordinator for offline computing software from 2013-2014, demonstrating a commitment to the data processing vital to the experiment.
Tae-Jeong Kim’s Particle Physics Background & CMS Contributions
This investigation required advanced techniques in particle detection and data analysis, skills he would later bring to the CMS collaboration. Kim completed his doctoral studies in Experimental Particle Physics at Korea University in 2007, laying the foundation for his subsequent contributions to international particle physics projects. Following his PhD, he transitioned to postdoctoral work at the University of Iowa where he focused on implementing the Particle Flow Algorithm (PFA) and refining muon identification techniques for the proposed International Linear Collider.
Joining the CMS collaboration in 2009, Kim immediately contributed to foundational work, co-authoring the first CMS paper detailing the transverse-momentum and pseudo-rapidity distributions of charged particles. This initial involvement extended to commissioning the Particle Flow Algorithm at the start of CMS data taking, an important step in reconstructing particle trajectories and energies within the detector.
He then broadened his focus to encompass top quark physics, eventually chairing the top quark physics subgroups within the collaboration, demonstrating a capacity for leadership and coordination within a large international team. Kim’s career path also included academic positions at Jeonbuk National University, beginning in 2014 after his postdoctoral work at VUB (Brussels University), and later at Hanyang University, where he transitioned to an associate professor in 2015 and rejoined CMS as a team leader.
At Hanyang University, he continued to deepen his involvement with CMS, taking on responsibilities within the muon system. He served as the RPC IB chair from 2019 to 2022, overseeing the maintenance and operation of a specific component of the muon detector, and subsequently as deputy muon system manager from 2023 to 2025, further expanding his managerial role within the experiment.
His progression within CMS reflects a sustained commitment to both data acquisition and analysis, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Spokesperson for 2026-2028 alongside Florencia Canelli. This new role positions him as a key figure in guiding the collaboration’s research program and ensuring the continued success of the experiment.
The CMS collaboration also acknowledged the contributions of outgoing Deputy Spokesperson, Hafeez Hoorani, thanking him for his service representing CMS from 2024-2026. Kim’s diverse experience, spanning detector commissioning, data analysis, and leadership roles, uniquely prepares him to address the challenges and opportunities facing the CMS experiment in the years ahead as the collaboration prepares for the High-Luminosity LHC and the next generation of physics discoveries.
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