On October 24, the American Physical Society announced that Xue Qikun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor at Tsinghua University, and president of the Southern University of Science and Technology, has been awarded this year's Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize. Since the award was first granted in 1953, this is the first time that the prize has been awarded to a physicist of Chinese nationality.
The prize is recognized as the highest award in condensed matter physics, and is intended to honor scientists who have made outstanding contributions in this field.
Xue and Harvard University Professor Ashvin Vishwanath were awarded for their "groundbreaking theoretical and experimental studies on the collective electronic properties of materials that reflect topological aspects of their band structure." Xue's primary achievements include experimental research on topological insulators and the innovative breakthrough of experimentally discovering the quantum anomalous Hall effect in a magnetic topological insulator. He has become the first recipient of Chinese nationality in the 70-year history of the prize.
Since 2008, the research team led by Xue has made a series of significant advancements in the experimental research of topological insulators. The quantum anomalous Hall effect is one of the major scientific goals in this field. By the end of 2012, his team had experimentally discovered the quantum anomalous Hall effect for the first time. This achievement was published in the journal Science in March 2013. This is an important physical effect that Chinese scientists independently observed in experiment and is a significant scientific discovery of fundamental research worldwide.
Xue calls upon all Chinese scientists to always focus on the nation's major needs, leveraging fundamental research to support technological revolutions and industrial renewal, to promote social progress and the well-being of the people, to always face the forefront of global scientific technology, contributing Chinese wisdom to the world's scientific development through relentless efforts, and to let the powerful voice of China's scientific achievements resound on the world's top academic stages.
Editors: Li Han, Guo Lili
