Yong Moo "Bill" Shin

Dr. Yong Moo Shin was born on June 14, 1931 in Japan, moving to Tongyeong, South Korea as an adolescent. Despite growing up during the Japanese occupation and serving in the army during the Korean War, Bill nonetheless pursued his passion for physics. He received his undergraduate degree at Yonsei University, and completed his masters and PhD (1963) in physics at the University of Pennsylvania under the In-Ho Oh scholarship. Bill conducted post-doctoral studies at the University of Texas, where he met his future wife.

Bill was a professor at the University of Saskatchewan for over 30 years, and his research focused on nuclear and particle physics. Over the course of his career, he served as the director of LINAC, the university’s particle accelerator which was among the leading facilities at the time. His research took the Shin family to Germany, Japan, Korea, Russia, Switzerland and the United States. Among his other accomplishments, Bill was president of the Association of Korean-Canadian Scientists and Engineers, and was awarded the Order of Civil Merit by South Korean President Noh (1989). He retired in 1998.

Bill was a man of humility, and graciously mentored others. Few knew of his academic and professional accomplishments; he never spoke of them. And yet, he drew from his own personal and professional experiences to help his friends, students and family take advantage of what the world had to offer: to never be constrained by one's immediate environment, just as he was not during his life. Despite undeniable credentials, his gentle guidance was never pedantic. His counsel was both subtle and clear. But it was almost always humorous.

It was that very wit and humor (or his humorous, eccentric deeds) that in many ways exemplified Bill, leaving all whose lives he touched with amusing memories. He somehow managed to apply physics theories to daily life, which included home repair and interior decoration: his home had an extensive lamp collection built from radiation-proof bricks and particle accelerator parts from the lab. However, those lamps could only be powered by industrial-grade transformers. Of course, his home had those too.

In the years following retirement, Bill did not scribble physics equations on tissue boxes as much, and his emotional discourses about why all physics textbooks were wrong were less frequent. But his wit and passion for physics remained. At a family gathering shortly before his passing, Bill decided it was time for his adolescent grandchildren to learn particle theory. He went on to explain that some particles attracted each other: the stronger the attraction, the stronger the bond. He concluded his lesson with, “Friends and family are just like those particles that have the strongest bonds. That is why we always stick together!”

Bill is survived by his wife (Myoung), daughter (Christine), son (Albert) and daughter-in-law (Jane), along with his three grandchildren.

The Shin family kindly requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Canadian Red Cross in his memory (https://donate.redcross.ca/page/37159/donate/1?locale=en-CA).

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Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hamiltonharronfunerals.com for the Shin family.