Two scientific research achievements led by Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) were honored with China’s top science award—National Science and Technology Awards, including a second prize of the State Natural Science Award and an International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People’s Republic of China, at the meeting conflating the national sci-tech conference, the national science and technology award conference, and the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering held on July 8 in Beijing.
State Natural Science Award
The project titled “Investigation of Efficient Ordering and Localization in Micro- and Nanophotonics” led by Professor Wang Xuehua from SYSU’s School of Physics, won the second prize of the State Natural Science Award.
The project was also joined by SYSU researchers including Liu Jin, Zhou Zhangkai, Li Juntao, and Chen Bo.
Professor Wang Xuehua of the School of Physics, Sun Yat-sen University, and his research team, recipients of the 2025 State Natural Science Award (Second Prize)
Micro-nano photonics serves as the physical bedrock for high-performance optoelectronic devices and integrated chips, with wide applications in quantum technology, optoelectronic information, and smart displays. Professor Wang’s team successfully tackled long-standing challenges in the active control of micro-nano photons, providing new principles and methods for the development of integrated quantum chips.
“This honor is both a recognition and an encouragement for our team's long-term dedication to basic physics research,” Wang said, adding that the team would continue to focus on cutting-edge core scientific issues to support the nation’s high-level sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening.
International Science and Technology Cooperation Award
Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and founder of the Lehn Institute of Functional Materials at SYSU, received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People’s Republic of China.
Professor Jean-Marie Lehn with SYSU students
A world-renowned chemist and the 1987 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor Lehn has been deeply engaged in scientific exchanges with China since the 1980s. He has made outstanding contributions to advancing China's supramolecular chemistry to the international forefront, while actively financing local talent cultivation and promoting multilateral research networks between China and Europe.
Expressing his gratitude for the top honor, Professor Lehn emphasized that science acts as an indestructible bridge connecting different nations and cultures.
He compared international scientific cooperation to supramolecular chemistry, noting that when different ideas, cultures, and wisdom interact, they generate an extraordinary power that far surpasses the sum of individual efforts.
The two prestigious national awards underscore SYSU’s solid contributions to both fundamental research and international scientific cooperation.
Building on these honors, SYSU will advance original breakthroughs in frontier fields and expand mutually beneficial global academic partnerships, supporting both China’s high-quality development and shared global scientific progress.
