Quick Facts
- The preliminary results of the 2023 National Science and Technology Award were announced
- Stanford University will have a new president for economists
- Traditional Chinese ice cracks inspire modern architectural design
- Discovery of the "Toppoker Effect" in 2D Quantum Magnets
- The gospel for the lazy - simulated sports drugs may appear
Academic headlines
1. The results of the preliminary evaluation of the 2023 National Science and Technology Award will be announced
On April 8, the National Science and Technology Award Office released the results of the preliminary evaluation of the 2023 National Science and Technology Award, 59 projects of the National Natural Science Award, 52 general projects of the National Technological Invention Award, and 132 general projects of the National Science and Technology Progress Award passed the preliminary evaluation, and 19 special projects of the National Technological Invention Award and 39 special projects of the National Science and Technology Progress Award will be announced internally in the entrusted management unit, nominating unit and project completion unit.
According to the statistics of the official account "Gaoji", among the general projects that have passed the preliminary evaluation, there are a total of 167 projects with universities as the first completion unit, and a total of 81 universities are on the list. Tsinghua University topped the list with 13 awards, followed by Xi'an Jiaotong University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology with eight each. Among the projects of the National Natural Science Award, Zhejiang University and Yanshan University each have one preliminary evaluation recommendation grade as the first prize. Among the National Technological Invention Award projects, Tsinghua University, Hunan University and China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) each have one preliminary evaluation proposal for the first prize. Among the National Science and Technology Progress Award projects, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sichuan University, Jilin Agricultural University, Xidian University and Zhejiang University of Technology each have one preliminary evaluation recommendation for the first prize.
Source:
National Science and Technology Award Office, public account "high performance"
2. Stanford University will have a new president for economists
Jonathan Levin, dean of the business school, has been named the 13th president of Stanford University.
图源：Aubrie Pick
On April 4, the Stanford University Board of Trustees announced that Jonathan Levin, dean of the Stanford University Business School, has been appointed as the next president, taking office on August 1 this year.
Born in 1972, Jonathan Levine received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University and his bachelor's degree in English and mathematics in 1994. He then received his master's degree in economics from the University of Oxford and his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Levine joined Stanford University's Department of Economics in 2000 and was awarded the John Bates Clark Award in 2011. In 2016, Levine became dean of the Stanford University Business School. In 2021, he accepted an invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to join the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. His main research interests are incentive contracts, auctions and markets, e-commerce, consumer lending, healthcare competition, and the economics of technology.
On July 19 last year, former Chancellor and neuroscientist Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced his resignation as president after a Stanford select committee announced the results of his academic misconduct review. Richard Saller has been acting principal since September 2023.
Reference Sources:
https://news.stanford.edu/report/2024/04/04/stanford-alum-business-school-dean-jonathan-levin-named-stanford-president/
Previous Research
3.
The ice crack window decoration of Suzhou's "Lingering Garden".
Source: Qianqian
When Dr Isef Md Rian, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Liverpool, first came to China, he was immediately drawn to the lattice window design of Suzhou's classical gardens. In his opinion, this is not only a unique aesthetic style, but also has good mechanical properties, and he has been exploring the laws for many years.
Now Dr. Rian has discovered that the rules for creating ice ray patterns are actually quite simple, similar to fractals. For example, first divide a square into two quadrilaterals, and then further divide each quadrilateral into two quadrilaterals. In each step, the proportions of the quadrilateral being split are different, and this is how to create a random pattern using simple rules. "With this configuration, Chinese craftsmen were able to increase its sturdiness so that it could provide protection as a window fence. The random configuration of the ice cracks provides a multi-angle connection that transforms the window into a collection of resultant forces and uniform stress distributions, resulting in a unique stiffness. ”
He then developed an algorithm to simulate the generation of this lattice-like shell, which was applied to architectural design with great results. The findings were published in Frontiers of Architectural Research.
Reference Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263524000025?via%3Dihub
4.
图源：Nat. Phys. (2024).
Hatps://doi.org/10.1038/S41567-024-02465-5
Recently, the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology of China have cooperated with the Steady-State Strong Magnetic Field Experimental Facility (SHMFF) to make progress in the theoretical and experimental research of the two-dimensional new quantum magnet Skyrmion quantum excitation, and proposed the concept of "Tophole effect".
In 2017, scientists discovered the two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials CrI3 and CrGeTe3 in experiments. It is found that in a specific thickness range and temperature range, two asymmetric cat-ear-shaped "bumps" appear in the magnetization reversal region of the magneto-optical Kerr loop. This feature is completely different from the M-H hysteresis loop of the block, but it is highly similar to the electrical topological Hall effect in a typical magnetic SGRM subsystem. Through atomic-scale magnetodynamic simulations and theoretical calculations, the research team revealed that the scattering of conductive electrons by the "topological charge" of the Skyminon on the photoelectric field is the microscopic cause of the "bulging" signal of the optical Kerr angle during the magnetic flipping process. Through magnetic force microscopy imaging experiments, the researchers observed that the magnetic field of the ribbon magnetic structure in CrVI6 that evolved into a dot-like magnetic structure was consistent with the magnetic field corresponding to the magneto-optical Kerr "bulge", which further supported the topological properties of the optical Kerr signal.
Based on the above results, the collaborative team condensed the core concept of "topological effect", and proposed a new scheme for non-destructive/non-invasive detection of topological magnetic structures by optical means. Based on the alternating photoelectric field, the scheme further relaxes the requirements for the conductivity of the material and broadens the application range on the basis of the "topological Hall effect" of direct current. The technical advantages of strong magnetic field spectroscopy enable this scheme to carry out spatially resolved, non-destructive and non-contact detection of the excitation of sigmions and other topological elements, which lays a physical foundation and provides a means of characterization for revealing the microscopic mechanism of topological magnetic structure. The results were published in Nature Physics.
Reference Sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-024-02465-5
5.
Because people like the elderly, those with stroke sequelae and people with physical disabilities face a lot of difficulty in exercising, Bahaa Elgendy, an associate professor of medicinal chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, wanted to develop a drug that could activate special switches in the body's cells, which are usually activated by exercise, which help maintain and regenerate muscle mass and promote the activity of the cell's power chamber.
The basis of the study is called "estrogen-associated receptors" (ERRs), which are similar to estrogen receptors in terms of protein and gene composition, but ERR does not respond to estrogen. Instead, they are orphan receptors, which means scientists don't know what binds to them naturally. These receptors are found throughout the body, and they are especially important in tissues with high energy needs, such as skeletal muscle, heart, and brain. Studies on mouse skeletal muscle have shown that activating the receptors helps boost fuel production in cellular mitochondria, increases exercise tolerance in animals, and helps cells switch to burning fat instead of sugar.
Elgendy's team has developed a new molecule called SLU-PP-332 that activates three types of ERR, which in tests in mice increased endurance and increased the number of fatigue-resistant muscle fibers. The next step of research hopes to find out how it is metabolized in vivo in order to fully evaluate its effects and possible side effects.
Reference Sources:
https://www.livescience.com/health/medicine-drugs/