Member Spotlight: Su Yeong Kim
Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin
During the SRCD 2023 Biennial Meeting, Dr. Kim was awarded the Mentoring and Integrity Award from the Asian Caucus. Her significant contributions to mentoring Asian/Asian American scholars or those who conduct research related to Asian/Asian Americans.
What advice would you give to a Graduate student beginning their Ph.D. studies in Developmental Science or related?
Developmental science is a dynamic and evolving field. Graduate students should aim to learn a wide variety of methods and theories to be able to contribute original science long after they have received their doctoral degrees.
What is something you learned in the last month outside of your field?
My research lab is currently implementing a Natural Language Processing project. I had to learn the basics of different language metrics such as BERT-SCORE, BLEU, and COMET, which we will soon be implementing in our longitudinal study of Mexican-origin language brokers.
What is your Best SRCD memory?
The Asian Caucus meeting at the SRCD 2023 Biennial Meeting was special for me. My students nominated me for the mentoring and integrity award from the Asian Caucus, and it was a treat to see all of them in person at the same place and time as they were mentored across a period of over 15 years.
What is your favorite social media platform (if you have one) and why?
In my work as Editor, I use Twitter to give spotlights of articles accepted for publications with a short summary and a graphics of the authors and abstract.
What publication or book would you say is a must read in the field (and why)?
The work that inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. was Ruth K. Chao’s landmark publication in 1994, “Beyond Parental Control and Authoritarian Parenting Style: Understanding Chinese Parenting through the Cultural Notion of Training,” published in Child Development. This paper exemplified for me how to infuse cultural psychology to developmental science and is the model I strive for in my research.