Xue Qikun, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and an alumnus of Shandong University, wins China's top sci-tech award for the year 2023 on June 24. [Photo/Shandong University]

Chinese physicist Xue Qikun, an alumnus of the 1980 class of the Center for Optics Research and Engineering of Shandong University, won the country's top sci-tech award for the year 2023 on June 24, when the meeting that combined the national sci-tech conference, the national science and technology awards conference and the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering was held in Beijing.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant breakthroughs at the forefront of contemporary science and technology or have demonstrated outstanding contributions to scientific and technological innovation, commercialization of achievements, and high-tech industrialization.

Born in 1963, Xue has dedicated his entire career to fundamental research in materials physics. He is the youngest recipient of this award since its establishment in 2000.

At 41, Xue became one of the youngest academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Throughout his illustrious career, he has made remarkable achievements, including proposing the interface high-temperature superconductivity at 49 and discovering the quantum anomalous Hall effect at 50. In 2018, his leadership in the experimental project on the quantum anomalous Hall effect earned the team the only first prize in the National Natural Science Awards.

Xue's journey from humble beginnings in a rural family in Shandong Province to becoming a trailblazing physicist is a testament to his relentless dedication. He pursued his Ph.D at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where his perseverance and work ethic earned him the nickname "711 Academician". He usually arrives at the laboratory at 7:00 am and leaves until 11:00 pm.