Returned overseas Chinese Tai Renzhong: I believe that China's photonic science will come to the forefront of the world

(Ten Years of China · Overseas Chinese Voice) Returned Overseas Chinese Tai Renzhong: I believe that China's photonic science will come to the forefront of the world

　　China News Agency, Shanghai, October 17th, title: Returned overseas Chinese Tai Renzhong: I believe that the Chinese Photonic Science Society will come to the forefront of the world

　　Author Liu Xiao Zhang Jian

　　In Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, there is a building shaped like a "nautilus" - Shanghai Light Source.

As the largest scientific installation with the largest scale, the most users and the most output in China so far, Shanghai Light Source has "served" scientific research for more than ten years.

　　On December 25, 2004, Shanghai Light Source (SSRF), a major national scientific project, started construction in Zhangjiang Science and Technology Park. It is the first third-generation synchrotron radiation device in mainland China. It can generate broadband synchrotron radiation and is Described as a "super microscope", it is an indispensable experimental method to support basic research in many disciplines and high-tech research and development.

　　"I came back to China to be a Shanghai light source." Tai Renzhong, vice president of the Shanghai Institutes for Advanced Study of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a returned overseas Chinese, said that the Shanghai light source construction plan was an opportunity for him to return to China.

　　"My doctoral research is synchrotron radiation. When I graduated in 1999, there was no Shanghai Light Source in China, and when I came back, there was no research environment, so I did two more postdoctoral studies in Japan." After "wandering" in Japan for 4 years, Tai Renzhong got Knowing that Shanghai Light Source was going to set up a project, "I was quite excited at the time. After so many years of studying in Japan, it finally came into play."

　　After finishing his studies in Japan, Tai Renzhong joined the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and devoted himself to the construction of Shanghai Light Source.

The difficulties faced in the manufacture of such a large scientific installation as the Shanghai Light Source are all-round.

He recalled: "At that time, there were a lot of skeptics, because in addition to scientists, the ability to manufacture scientific research equipment in the host country was also needed. At first, I was quite apprehensive. Fortunately, after returning to China, I could see our country's economy and technology every year. huge progress.”

　　On April 29, 2009, Shanghai Light Source was officially completed.

"We were very excited that day, when Nature ("Nature") came to interview and said that China has finally joined the world-class synchrotron radiation source club because of the Shanghai Light Source. We are all proud." Tai Renzhong said.

　　"Pride" always accompanies Tai Renzhong's next work.

"Before the Shanghai Light Source was built, foreign countries used the attitude of a teacher to guide us. After the completion, their attitude was very respectful, and they believed that we were equal to them. How many Nature and Science papers are even more proud, because we have built a real device that can support scientists in our country to publish papers in Nature and Science."

　　After more than ten years of operation and opening, Shanghai Light Source has received more than 40,000 users, and has achieved a number of internationally leading results, covering life sciences, condensed matter physics, chemistry, materials, energy, environment, geology, archaeology and other disciplines.

Users of Shanghai Light Source have published more than 10,000 journal papers, of which more than 150 papers have been published in three top international journals: Science, Nature, and Cell ("Cell").

　　In Tai Renzhong's view, Shanghai Light Source has two major roles in the development of China's science and technology.

"One is to promote basic frontier science. For example, we discovered Weyl fermions in condensed matter materials in 2015, which caused a great stir in the international physics community."

　　"The second is to use breakthroughs in basic frontiers for high-tech research and development." Tai Renzhong explained by taking the field of life sciences as an example, Shanghai Light Source can analyze the invasion mechanism of viruses such as bird flu, Ebola, Zika and new crown, and carry out follow-up vaccines , drug production; in material science, after graphene won the Nobel Prize, countries are studying its industrial application. Relying on the research of graphene by Shanghai Light Source, Hangzhou has built a graphene production base with an annual output of 10 tons.

　　Before 2016, Shanghai had only one large scientific facility, the Shanghai Light Source.

With the start of construction of the second phase of Shanghai Light Source, Zhangjiang Science City has 12 major national science and technology infrastructures that have been built, under construction and planned. Possibilities take shape.

Tai Renzhong believes that China's photonic science will definitely develop vigorously in the future, and it will come to the forefront of the world.

"I am very confident and proud of this." (End)