The 2023 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, China’s top scientific honor, was granted to BAQIS President Prof. Qi-Kun Xue for his outstanding contribution to scientific and technological innovation.

The award was presented at a meeting combining 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 in Beijing on June 24th.

Born in 1963, Xue, an internationally renowned experimental physicist, once earned the State Natural Science Award in 2018, China's highest accolade for basic research, for his experimental discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall effect. He is the first Chinese national to win the Fritz London Memorial Prize and the first Chinese national to win the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize.

Xue has served as President of the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences since 2017, he is also a professor of Tsinghua’s Department of Physics, president of the Southern University of Science and Technology, and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  He is dedicated to research in the fields of scanning tunneling microscopy, molecular beam epitaxy, topological insulator quantum matter, and high-temperature superconductivity.

About China's State Preeminent Science and Technology Award

China's State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was established by the State Council in 2000 as the nation's highest honor recognizing exceptional contributions to scientific and technological advancement. This award is bestowed annually on only two individuals for their outstanding achievements. Since its inception, 37 scientists have been recipients of this esteemed accolade.