October 24, 2023 Beijing time
American Physical Society
(American Physical Society) announced
Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of Tsinghua University
Xue Qikun, President of Southern University of Science and Technology
Received this year's Barkley Award
（2024 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize）
This is since the establishment of the award in 1953
It was awarded for the first time to a Chinese physicist
The Barkley Prize is recognized as the highest international award in the field of condensed matter physics, recognizing scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of condensed matter physics.
Xue Qikun and Harvard University professor Ashvin Vishwanath jointly contributed to "groundbreaking theoretical and experimental studies on the collective electronic properties of materials that." reflect topological aspects of their band structure)" award.
With the research of topological insulators and the innovative breakthrough of discovering quantum anomalous Hall effect in topological insulators, Xue Qikun became the first Chinese laureate of the Barkley Prize since its establishment 70 years ago.
Climbing to the top and creating a "milestone"
The award of the Barkley Prize is a further recognition by the international physics community of Xue Qikun and his research team for years in the fields of topological insulators and quantum anomalous Hall effect, and achieved extraordinary results.
The major progress made in China's basic scientific research and the research results of major breakthrough significance made by Chinese scientists have stepped into the center of the world stage and shined in the "first echelon" of scientific development.
Quantum anomalous Hall effect experimental discovery of final measured samples and data
The quantum anomalous Hall effect is an important quantum effect in condensed matter physics. For a long time, it has been extremely difficult to make it "appear" and realize experimental observations, and it is a scientific goal that countless researchers have struggled to pursue.
Since 2009, Xue Qikun has joined forces with several research groups from the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University, the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Stanford University to form a research team to try to climb this scientific peak from the research direction of topological insulators.
At the end of 2012, after overcoming one difficulty after another, Xue Qikun and his team finally succeeded in experimentally observing the quantum anomalous Hall effect, which became the "world's first"!
The results were published in the American journal Science in March 2013 and were highly praised by reviewers as "a landmark work in condensed matter physics."
Xue Qikun and some members of the research team
This important physical phenomenon independently observed by Chinese scientists in experiments is regarded as an important scientific discovery in the global basic research field, and is one of the most important experimental advances in the world physics community, leading a new direction for subsequent international condensed matter physics research.
In recent years, many research teams at home and abroad have made new breakthroughs on this basis, and the light of Chinese wisdom has quietly shone in the process of human scientific development.
In the field of application, the quantum anomalous Hall effect and its non-dissipative edge state may be used in the future to develop a new generation of low-energy electronic devices and solve a series of bottlenecks.
Xue Qikun communicates with the students of the research team
Climbing a peak is just the beginning of the next leg of the trek. In the past decade, Xue Qikun and his research team have never stopped exploring the material world, they have continuously tried to improve the observation temperature, actively searched for new materials and made important progress, and at the same time promoted the experimental results into the application field as the goal, and strive to help the national information technology innovation.
"The achievements have benefited from the continuous growth of the country's scientific and technological strength and the long-term profound accumulation of basic scientific research since the reform and opening up. This honor belongs to every researcher in the team, and it belongs to the country. Xue Qikun firmly believes that more and more scientific discoveries and achievements leading international development will emerge on the mainland.
Establish self-improvement and pursue the "Chinese Dream"
Xue Qikun has had many "titles" -
He is the recipient of world-class science awards such as the 2016 Future Science Prize "Material Science Award" and the 2020 Feliez London Prize;
He once humbly compared himself to "a small boat sailing out of the Yimeng Mountains" in an interview with the media, and was once called "Mr. 7-11" because he worked in the laboratory from 7 a.m. and left at 11 p.m.
Today, Xue Qikun holds many positions in scientific research, talent training, and administrative affairs, and his working day is longer than the "7-11" in the past. But what has not changed is the spiritual enjoyment and pure happiness that he obtains from exploring puzzles and satisfying curiosity in scientific research.
Xue Qikun works in the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University
In addition to topological quantum physics, another important research direction of the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University is high-temperature superconductivity.
The field of superconductivity and high-temperature superconductivity has also received continuous attention from generations of physicists for more than a hundred years, and their research has promoted a deep understanding of nature, especially the laws of resistance transmission, but it has also left many problems of the century that are still unsolved in the field of physics.
In 2012, Xue Qikun led a research team from the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University to discover the interfacial high-temperature superconductivity derived by the combination of monolayer ferroselenium and strontium titanate substrate. This finding challenged the mainstream consensus and led to the publication of a paper in 2021 to further propose unique and innovative ideas. Making new Chinese discoveries in the study of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity is the next scientific goal of Xue Qikun and his research team.
In 2023, the research team and collaborators of Zhang Ding and Xue Qikun of the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University made important progress in the research of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity
Whether it is the world's first discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall effect in topological matter, or the courage to put forward views contrary to mainstream views in the face of world problems, Xue Qikun and his research team have never wavered in their original intention to explore the material world.
"Tsinghua University's educational background of value shaping, ability cultivation and knowledge transfer is also reflected in our research team." Solid theoretical foundation, excellent experimental technology, rigorous research process, and firm belief in "sitting on the cold bench" and questioning "international consensus" are the strength for them to challenge the world's scientific problems and write China's answers.
"If you could go back to the moment the results were published in 2013, what would you say to yourself at that time?"
"I would say... Continual self-improvement! ”
Tianxingjian, a gentleman with self-improvement. Xue Qikun encouraged himself and called on all Chinese scientists to always face the major needs of the country, use basic research to help the technological revolution and industrial renewal, promote social progress and people's happiness; We must always face the world's scientific and technological frontiers, contribute Chinese wisdom to the development of world science with unremitting efforts, and play a scientific strong voice belonging to Chinese on the top international academic stage!
Text | Huang Sinan
Source: Tsinghua University