Dr. Anton Zeilinger, Einstein Chair Professor of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) since 2016, recieved the 2020 Chinese Government Friendship Award.

Dr. Zeilinger, an esteemed physicist, is the president of Austrian Academy of Sciences, and a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He is the pioneer and trailblazer in quantum physics and quantum information. For his outstanding contributions to the foundations of quantum physics, Dr. Zeilinger has received numerous international prizes and awards, including the Wolf Prize in Physics, the International Quantum Communication Award, the inaugural Isaac Newton Medal, the Descartes Prize, and the Micius Quantum Prize.

In 2017, the research team led by Dr. Zeilinger took part in the intercontinental quantum communication experiment based on the Micius Quantum Experiment Science Satellite (QUESS) as a trusted relay. They successfully constructed a secure and stable quantum communication spanning 4,600 km between Beijing and Vienna for the first time in the history. This achievement was selected as “Highlights of the Year” in 2018 in physics listed by the American Physical Society (APS). In 2019, he cooperated with Professors from  USTC to build the first teleportation of a high-dimensional quantum system in the world, which was widely recognized by the global academia.

Dr. Zeilinger has long been engaged in the talent cultivation and the international scientific research cooperation between China and Austria. He devotes great efforts to the development and future of young scholars. In addition, he has cultivated a group of outstanding young Chinese scienticts. Dr. Zeilinger has helped them make prominent contributions to the related scientific fields and co-published more than 60 papers in prestigious international peer-reviewd journals.

Dr. Zeilinger had given multiple lectures on quantum frontiers at the Forum of Great Minds and “Micius Salon” at USTC. His talks have been encouraging students to devote themselves to quantum scientific research. He promotes the China-Austria international academic collabration, and strengthenes the international academic exchanges of young researchers from both countries. Since 1983, he has been working closely with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), organizing the Conference of the World Academy of Sciences that BAI Chunli, the president of CAS and other academicians attended. His action has greatly promoted the cooperation and exchanges between Chinese scientific researchers and the world.

For all his outstanding contributions to the international cooperation between China and other countries, Dr. Zeilinger has won the Friendship Award of 2020.

The ceremony of 2020 and 2021 Friendship Award was held in the Great Hall of the People on September 30th. Chinese Premier LI Keqiang met all the 100 foreign experts who won the 2020 and 2021 Friendship Award, including Dr. Zeilinger, and extended congratulations to their achievements and highly praised their contributions to promoting Sino-foreign cooperation and talent cultivation in China.

The Friendship Award is the highest award established by the Chinese government to commend foreign experts who have made prominent contributions to China modernization. “Friendship Award” recognized about 50 winners every year. The 100 foreign experts who won the 2020 and 2021 award come from 32 countries.1799 foreign experts have won the Award since its inception in 1991. Among them, six foreign experts at USTC have recieved this honor.

Dr. Zeilinger visited as a guest at the “Micius Salon” of USTC. (Image by USTC)

(Written by LI Ang, edited by Wang Zhaokun, USTC News Center)