Fudan to award three scientists 3 million yuan

Fudan University in Shanghai announced on Thursday that the 2020 Fudan-Zhongzhi Science Award will be presented to three scientists for their extraordinary contributions to research in the field of topological geometry.

The three individuals are Sir Michael V. Berry, a professor of physics at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, Charles L. Kane, a professor of physics at University of Pennsylvania in the United States, and Xue Qikun, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor of physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The university said that Berry was conferred the award for the theoretical discovery of the geometric phase, which is widely known as Berry phase in basic quantum mechanics. Kane will receive the award for his pioneering contributions in the field of topological insulators, while Xue has been awarded the accolade for his discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall effect.

The award ceremony will be held on Dec 13 in Shanghai. The laureates will share the prize of 3 million yuan ($455,000) which was donated by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group.

The Fudan-Zhongzhi Science Award was jointly founded by Fudan University and Zhongzhi Enterprise Group in 2015 to recognize scientists who have made fundamental and groundbreaking achievements in the fields of physics, mathematics, and biomedicine.

The award aims to promote global scientific research and provide an international platform for research communication, discussion and sharing.