21st April 2022. Institute of Physics

The Physics Benevolent Fund has been extended to assist professional physicists affected by the war in Ukraine. The Fund can contribute towards personal support for those who have been displaced to the UK and Ireland as a result of the war.

Applicants are not required to be Institute of Physics (IOP) or Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) members to receive this help and are asked to provide the name and contact details for a referee able to support and verify their application.

To apply for support from the Fund, please visit the IOP website to complete the contact form and send it to benfund@iop.org.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch by completing the form, as any conversation, enquiry or application will be treated with strict confidence.

We continue to hope for a swift resolution to the crisis and an end to its devastating impacts on the people of Ukraine.

author: Institute of Physics

 Professor Qi-Kun Xue

The Institute of Physics (IOP) and IOP Publishing (IOPP) have appointed Professor Qi-Kun Xue as chief scientific advisor for China.

In the newly created role, Professor Xue will support the IOP and IOPP as they continue to strengthen relationships with the scientific community in China. He will advise on strategic engagement with key decision makers in government and the scientific community and provide expert insight into political and institutional processes. He will also lead a new Science Advisory Board made up of distinguished academic and industry professionals, which has been formed by the organisations to provide guidance on developments in research and academic publishing throughout China.

Professor Xue is currently Vice President of Tsinghua University, Beijing and President of Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (BAQIS). He is also a Vice-President of the Chinese Physical Society.

He received his BSc from Shan-Dong University in 1984 and his PhD in condensed matter physics from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOPCAS) in 1994.

His academic career began as a Research Associate at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan. He progressed to Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University in 1996. Xue received his professorship from IOPCAS in 1999 and moved to the Department of Physics, Tsinghua University as a Distinguished Professor, in 2005.

In 2016, he was the first recipient of the Physical Science Award of the new Future Science Prize – China’s first non-governmental science award – for his ground-breaking discoveries of novel quantum phenomena using molecular beam epitaxy, including quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and monolayer FeSe superconductivity.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Xue, said: “Thanks to substantial investment, and the hard work and dedicated focus of its research community, China is at the forefront of science globally. I am very proud to be helping the Institute of Physics and IOP Publishing in their efforts to forge closer working relationships with the scientific community in China.”

Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive Officer at the Institute of Physics, said: “We are honoured that Professor Xue has agreed to become our first chief scientific advisor for China. It’s extremely important for us to strengthen and develop our links with China’s scientific community, to enable us to learn from one another and foster greater collaboration. I’m looking forward to working closely with Professor Xue and the Advisory Board in the coming years to achieve this.”

Antonia Seymour, Director of Publishing at IOP Publishing, said: “At IOP Publishing we’re very fortunate to have published some of the most significant research from scientists in China, many of whom are considered world leaders in their fields. Alongside our colleagues at IOP, we feel very privileged to have access to the advice and guidance of Professor Xue as we work to build our links with the Chinese research community.”