On May 1, the American Academy of Sciences (AAS) announced the result of the 2018 academician election on its website. Prof. WEN Xiaogang, alumnus of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), was elected as an academician of AAS. Until now, four USTC alumni have been elected as academician by AAS.

USTC Alumnus WEN Xiaogang. (Picture from USTC Initiative Founfation)

 

WEN Xiaogang, professor of MIT, entered the Physics Department of USTC in 1977. In 1981, he went to Princeton University for further study with highest score of the qualification exam - CUSPEA. He was awarded the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Overseas Chinese Physics Association in 1994 and the Sloan Award from 1992 to 1997. In 2016, he received the Oliver E. Buckley Prize, which is the highest honor in international condensed matter physics field.

In 1989, WEN first introduced the concept of topological order and has developed the theory for decades. For the theory of topological order and its consequences in a broad range of physical systems, WEN won the Buckley Award. WEN also revealed the essence of the concept of topological order and proposed a unified theory of photon and electron using string-net theory.

Graduated from USTC, WEN mentioned in an interview with USTC Alumni Foundation that studying at USTC plays a significant part in his researching and development. Growing up in an environment which encourages thinking, WEN learned to make full use of the discrete time. Dedicated, caring teachers and excellent students all inspired WEN to turn dreams into reality.

 

(Written by HU Dongyi, Edited by HUANG Danning, USTC News Center)