FOR his role in pushing forward the development of quantum communications, Chinese physicist Pan Jianwei has been included in Nature’s 10, the annual list of 10 people who mattered in science in 2017, which was released online Monday by the prestigious journal Nature.
From quantum communications and genome editing to the threat of a nuclear crisis, “this list covers the highs and lows for science and scientists in 2017,” said Brendan Maher, news features editor at Nature.
Dubbed “Father of Quantum” by some in China, Pan Jianwei and his team harnessed quantum laws to transmit information securely, called quantum communications.
In July, Pan and his team reported they had broken the record for quantum teleportation. In September, the team used a satellite to beam photons to Beijing and Vienna, generating quantum encryption keys that allowed teams in these cities to video chat securely, according to Nature.
More experiments have been planned by Pan and his team, and in the next five years, “many wonderful results will come, it’s really a new era,” Pan was quoted as saying in the Nature feature.
Renowned scientist and president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Anton Zeilinger, seen as a pioneer in the field of quantum information and of the foundations of quantum mechanics, believes the landmark quantum-encrypted intercontinental video call between China and Austria is very important and impressive.
“I see this as a part of the goal of building a future quantum Internet, where in this case China enabled a worldwide quantum-secure communication,” the physicist told Xinhua earlier.
Nature’s 10 is not just about scientists, policymakers are also featured on the list. Lassina Zerbo, head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, was included for his hard work on encouraging nuclear nonproliferation.
(Xinhua)