永遠懷念張首晟教授。
By—潘國駒
”
張首晟
(1963-2018)
美國華裔物理學家
美國斯坦福大學終身教授
世界科技期刊編委
(IJMPB和MPLB)
2018年12月1日,美國華裔物理學家,美國斯坦福大學終身教授、美國科學院院士、中科院外籍院士,世界科技期刊編委(IJMPB和MPLB)張首晟教授去世,終年55歲。
張首晟的主要貢獻包括對拓撲絕緣體、量子自旋霍爾效應、自旋電子學、高溫超導等領域的研究。2007年,他發現的“量子自旋霍爾效應”被《科學》雜志評爲當年的“全球十大重要科學突破”之一。天妒英才,我們對于張首晟教授的離世表示哀悼。
2018年12月6日,驚聞世界知名的華裔物理學家,我們世界科技的摯友——張首晟教授過世的噩耗。據聞,張教授是于12月1日,在加利福尼亞猝然離世,終年55歲。震驚之余,也深切悲恸。張首晟教授是美國斯坦福大學終身教授、美國科學院院士、中國科學院外籍院士,同時也是世界科技的作者和期刊編委(International Journal of Modern Physics B【IJMPB】和Modern Physics Letters B【MPLB】)。
我和張首晟教授是相識好幾十年的老朋友。他1963年2月15日在上海出生,1978年考入複旦大學。1980年赴德國柏林自由大學留學,1983年獲碩士學位。後赴美國紐約州立大學石溪分校深造,1987年獲博士學位。我和他正是在石溪期間認識,有著數十年的交情,也有許多密切的合作。首晟1989年進入IBM從事研究工作;1995年被聘爲斯坦福大學正教授時年僅32歲,並在2004年出任IBM-斯坦福自旋電子學研究中心主任。
他在研究領域表現卓著,尤其在拓撲絕緣體、量子自旋霍爾效應、自旋電子學、高溫超導等領域,貢獻很大,特別是發現了“天使粒子”和“量子自旋霍爾效應”,並且在理論上預測了拓撲絕緣體的存在。
我曾多次邀請首晟來新加坡參加會議。訪問新加坡期間,他給了三四場精彩的演講,還與我們進行了一場深入的訪談。記得他曾經提到,他的許多重大研究成果和突破,都與新加坡有關,在新加坡參加的一些國際重要會議,爲他的研究提供了不少的靈感。
他也是楊振甯教授的得意門生,楊先生曾說,張首晟是他最好的學生之一。1990年,張首晟與楊先生合作,在Modern Physics Letters B期刊上發表了題爲SO4Symmetry in a Hubbard Model的論文,在與高溫超導密切相關的Hubbard模型裏找到具有非對角長程序的本征態,兩人共同發現了它的SO4對稱性。楊先生還認爲,首晟“獲得諾貝爾獎只是時間問題”。其實,早在2014年,他已獲得諾貝爾物理學獎提名,但遺憾並未獲獎。
首晟天資聰慧,而且勤奮刻苦,熱衷科學研究,也熱愛哲學曆史。與人交往時溫文儒雅,平易近人。首晟的突然離世,令人惋惜,更多的是不舍。
首晟,我們永遠懷念你!最末,也附上與首晟的訪談,這也許是他最深入的一次訪談。
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Professor Zhang Shoucheng Will Always Be Remembered
On 6 December 2018, we learned about the demise of the world-renowned Chinese physicist, a dear friend of World Scientific, Professor Zhang Shoucheng. Professor Zhang passed away in California, on 1 December 2018, at the age of 55. The news had left us deeply shocked and saddened. The late Professor Zhang was a tenured professor of Stanford University; member of the National Academy of Sciences; Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and a World Scientific author and editorial board member of our journals (International Journal of Modern Physics B and Modern Physics Letters B).
We were old friends who had known each other for decades. He was born on February 15th,1963 in Shanghai, and enrolled into Fudan University in 1978. In 1980, he studied in the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and was conferred Master’s degree in 1983. Later, he travelled to New York for further studies in Stony Brook University and received his PhD degree in 1987. We met in Stony Brook University; and since then, cultivated years of friendship, and worked onseveral collaborations. Shoucheng joined the IBM in 1989 as a research staff member; was recruited as professor in Stanford University at a mere age of 32; and was appointed as Co-Director at IBM, Stanford Center for Spintronics Science and Application Center in 2004. He had outstanding performances in his area of research, especially in the fields of topological insulators, quantum spin hall effect, spintronics, high-temperature superconductivity and more. He had made tremendous contribution, especially in the discovery of Majorana fermion and the quantum spin hall effect, as well as the theoretical prediction of the possible existence of topological insulators.
In the past, I would frequently invite Shoucheng to attend conferences in Singapore.During his visits, he gave 3 to 4 very interesting public lectures, he also did a very long interview with us. And I remember,he once mentioned that these conferences inspired him a great deal,many of his achievements and breakthroughs were relevant to his experiences in Singapore.
He was the star pupil under Professor Yang Chen-Ning. Professor Yang once mentioned Shoucheng as one of his best students. In 1990, Shoucheng and Professor Yang worked together to produce the article “SO4 Symmetryin a Hubbard Model”, published in Modern Physics Letters B, on the discovery of the eigenstates possessing off-diagonal long-range order, in the Hubbard model which is closely related to the high-temperature superconductivity, in which both Professor Yang and Shoucheng discovered its SO4 symmetry.Shoucheng was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014, although he did not win. Professor Yang said it was only a matter of time before he did.
Shoucheng was not only highly intelligent, but also hardworking and persevering. He held a passion toward scientific research and was deeply interested in philosophy and history.He was gentle, cultivated and was amiable and approachable in nature. Shoucheng’s sudden passing is a regretful loss, which left us more than anything, in longing and sadness.
Shoucheng, you will always be remembered.
We have enclosed a copy of his interview with this letter, possibly one of the most thorough interview of him.
(文:潘國駒)
潘國駒 (Phua Kok Khoo),畢業于英國伯明翰大學,獲博士學位, 後又獲頒英國伯明翰大學榮譽理學博士(Doctor of Science)學位。目前擔任世界科技出版公司主席及總編輯和新加坡南洋理工大學高等研究所永久創所所長。潘教授于2009年當選聲譽卓著的美國物理學會院士,2014年當選新加坡國家科學院院士。
作者簡介潘國駒 教授世界科技出版公司總編輯新加坡南洋理工大學
高等研究所永久創所所長