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Insuk Seo

Probabilist and Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Seoul National University; IMO 2002 Silver Medalist for South Korea
Seoul National University · Seoul, South Korea · academic
math.snu.ac.kr

Probabilist working on interacting particle systems, metastability, and Markov chain mixing; Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Seoul National University. Ph.D. from NYU Courant (advisor S. R. S. Varadhan), former Morrey Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley. 2002 IMO Silver Medalist for South Korea; Korean Contest of Mathematics for University Students 1st place (2005).

Insuk Seo is a South Korean probabilist and Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Seoul National University. His research focuses on the large-scale analysis of non-equilibrium interacting particle systems, metastability of random processes, and the mixing behavior of Markov chains. He earned his Ph.D. at NYU's Courant Institute under S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, was a Morrey Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley, and joined SNU in 2017. As a high-school student he won a Silver Medal for South Korea at the 43rd International Mathematical Olympiad in Glasgow (2002).

Details
LocationSeoul, South Korea
Company sitesnu.ac.kr
UniversitySeoul National University
Probability theoryInteracting particle systemsMetastabilityMarkov chainsStatistical mechanicsProbabilityRandom processes
Notes
  • Public work email is [contact omitted], listed on his SNU faculty page.2026
  • Won a Silver Medal representing South Korea at the 43rd International Mathematical Olympiad (Glasgow, 2002).Jul 2002
  • Promoted to Full Professor at SNU in September 2025, completing a rise from Assistant (2017) to Associate (2020) to Full in eight years.Sep 2025
  • Received the Young Scientist Award from South Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and was elected to the Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology (Y-KAST) in 2020 - recognition of standing as a leading early-career Korean scientist.2020
  • Escalated from IMO silver medalist (2002) to 1st place in the Korean Contest of Mathematics for University Students (2005), then a Ph.D. at NYU Courant under Abel laureate S. R. S. Varadhan - a continuous competitive-math-to-probability trajectory.May 2016
  • Interrupted his NYU Ph.D. for mandatory South Korean military service from Feb 2009 to May 2012, returning to finish the doctorate in 2016.May 2012
  • Funded by both the Samsung Science & Technology Foundation (2019-2024) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (2018-2022), indicating sustained support for his probability research program.Jun 2019
  • Earned the Presidential Science Scholarship (2003-2007) and the Samsung Scholarship for Graduate Study (2007-2015), funding his studies from undergraduate through Ph.D.2007

Competition record

Republic of Korea · IMO

2002 · Silver · Rank 40