"Jeong Kim, the former chief executive and founder of Yurie Systems, which Lucent acquired in 1998, will rejoin Lucent as president of Bell Labs. He will succeed Bill O'Shea, who is retiring after 33 years of service to the company," the company operating the lab said Wednesday.

Bell Labs was founded in 1925 taking its name from Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Originally attached to the largest U.S. communication firm of the same name, it is now part of communication equipment maker Lucent.

"With his considerable experience, entrepreneurial spirit and proven track record in both commercializing new technology and leading high-performance technical teams, [Kim] will help ensure that Bell Labs continues to provide Lucent with a competitive advantage,�� Lucent CEO Patricia Russo said.

Kim founded the ATM and networking company Yurie Systems in 1992. In 1998, Lucent bought Yurie Systems for US$1 billion, and Kim was named in Forbes' list of the top 400 magnates. After Lucent took over his company, Kim served as president of Lucent's Broadband Carrier Networks and its Optical Networking Group.

He also became co-owner with Michael Jordan of the NBA's Washington Wizards in 2001, and was appointed a professor of electrical engineering professor at the University of Maryland in 2002. Last year, he gave US$2 million to Stanford University to establish a chair in Korean studies.

Kim emigrated to the U.S. in 1975, when he was a junior in middle school, earning his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and master's degree in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for seven years from 1984.

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