Preface: Centennial Physics at Peking University

Abstract

The Year 2013 is probably as much remarkable for the development of modern physical science in China as it is for School of Physics at Peking University. One hundred years ago, the physics division was born in Peking University, as the very first physics higher education unit having appeared in modern national universities of China. In the first one hundred years, the School has made distinguished contributions to the nation and to the world in both education and academia. As we celebrate the birthday of its first century and set our sights on the next, it is my great pleasure to invite you to this special issue of Frontier of Physics on “Centennial Physics at Peking University”. In 1913, the “WuLi Men” (Physics Division) was established at Peking University, and was later renamed the Department of Physics in 1919. With the reorganization of the Chinese system of higher education in 1952, the new Physics Department of Peking University was created from the merger of the physics departments of Peking University, Tsinghua University and Yenching University. This became the premier center for physics in China. The School of Physics was established in 2001, and includes not only the traditional fields of study in physics, but also related physical sciences. Throughout its history, the School has educated and hosted many prominent physicists, including figures such as Ta-You Wu, C. N. Yang, T. D. Lee, and Kun Huang. Today, the School of Physics includes Physics, Astronomy, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, and Nuclear Science & Technology. Research is devoted not only to the frontiers of fundamental physics but also to the innovation of advanced technology. Major research fields include high energy physics, astrophysics and cosmology, radioactive nuclear physics, high energy-density physics, key technologies for advanced light sources and particle beams, the interaction of particle beams with materials, mesoscopic semiconductor light emission and laser physics, ultrafast physics, optical properties of artificial microstructures and mesoscopic devices, electro-magnetic properties of mesoscopic functional systems, mesoscopic theory and material computation, high-temperature superconductivity physics and devices, nano-material and devices, near-field optics, quantum materials and quantum manipulation, soft condensed matter physics, biophysics, medical physics and imaging, atmospheric physics and the environment, meteorology and climate change, physical oceanography, and many others. The School consists of eleven divisions and seven related research institutes as follows, especially in which Daniel Chee Tsui Laboratory at Peking University was established in 2012, as Prof. Tsui, 1988 Nobel Prize Laureate, became a member of the School.