An influential professor who touched the lives of many students has passed away.

Dr. Chung Won Cho, known as “Cho” to his friends, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90.

Cho came to Canada from Seoul, South Korea in 1953. He and his wife of 68 years, Joyce, arrived in St. John’s in 1958 to serve as the physics department head at Memorial University.

Cho served as cultural liaison on a Newfoundland-Asian trade delegation led by former Premier Clyde Wells.

He was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1997 and was an active member of the Canadian Ethnocultural Council and was the former president of the Canadian Korean Association.

A funeral service is planned for March.