Shoucheng Zhang (; February 15, 1963 – December 1, 2018) was a Chinese-American physicist who was the JG Jackson and CJ Wood professor of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. He was a
condensed matter
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...
theorist known for his work on
topological insulator
A topological insulator is a material whose interior behaves as an electrical insulator while its surface behaves as an electrical conductor, meaning that electrons can only move along the surface of the material.
A topological insulator is an ...
s, the
quantum Hall effect
The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantized version of the Hall effect which is observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, in which the Hall resistance exh ...
, the
quantum spin Hall effect The quantum spin Hall state is a state of matter proposed to exist in special, two-dimensional semiconductors that have a quantized spin-Hall conductance and a vanishing charge-Hall conductance. The quantum spin Hall state of matter is the cousin of ...
,
spintronics
Spintronics (a portmanteau meaning spin transport electronics), also known as spin electronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-sta ...
, and
high-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-c or HTS) are defined as materials that behave as superconductors at temperatures above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The adjective "high temperature" is only in respect to previ ...
. According to the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
:
He discovered a new state of matter called topological insulator in which electrons can conduct along the edge without dissipation, enabling a new generation of electronic devices with much lower power consumption. For this ground breaking work he received numerous international awards, including the Buckley Prize, the Dirac Medal and Prize, the Europhysics Prize, the Physics Frontiers Prize and the Benjamin Franklin Medal.
Zhang founded the
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
firm Danhua Capital.
[
]
Biography
Zhang was born in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China in 1963. He was accepted by Fudan University
Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...
in 1978 at the age of 15, and went abroad in 1980 to study at the Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
in West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
, where he received his B.S. degree in 1983. He then pursued his graduate studies at Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
(then referred to as State University of New York, Stony Brook
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...
). At Stony Brook, he initially studied supergravity (and earned his Ph.D. in 1987) with his advisor Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, before turning to condensed matter on the advice of his personal hero, Nobel laureate Chen-Ning Yang
Yang Chen-Ning or Chen-Ning Yang (; born 1 October 1922), also known as C. N. Yang or by the English name Frank Yang, is a Chinese Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrab ...
. In the final year at Stony Brook, he switched to condensed matter physics under the supervision of Steven Kivelson.
Zhang was a postdoctoral Fellow at ITP in Santa Barbara from 1987 to 1989. He then joined IBM Almaden Research Center as a Research Staff Member from 1989 to 1993. Thereafter, he joined Stanford University as Assistant Professor of Physics. Beginning in 2004, he concurrently held (by courtesy appointment) titles of Professor of Applied Physics
Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered to be a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering.
"Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination ...
and Professor of Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
at Stanford University. In 2007, the "quantum spin Hall effect The quantum spin Hall state is a state of matter proposed to exist in special, two-dimensional semiconductors that have a quantized spin-Hall conductance and a vanishing charge-Hall conductance. The quantum spin Hall state of matter is the cousin of ...
" discovered by Zhang was named one of the "Top Ten Important Scientific Breakthroughs in the World" by ''Science Magazine''. In 2010, he was named the J. G. Jackson and C. J. Wood Professor in Physics.
In 2009, Zhang was chosen to be a part of an expert panel for the Thousand Talents Program
The Thousand Talents Plan or Thousand Talents Program (TTP) (), or Overseas High-Level Talent Recruitment Programs () is a program by the central government of China to recruit experts in science and technology from abroad, principally but not exc ...
. In 2013, Zhang created Danhua Capital, a venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
firm, which raised $434.5 million across two funds. Danhua Capital's major investors include state-owned Beijing government enterprise Zhongguancun Development Group (ZDG), which has been linked to the Chinese technology transfer program Made in China 2025
Made in China 2025 ()[Made in China 2025](_blank)
. CSIS, June 1, 2015. (MIC25, MIC 2025, or ...
. He also served as an independent non-executive director at Lenovo Group and at Meitu.
Zhang's wife Barbara is a software engineer at IBM. They met in kindergarten, in Shanghai. Together they have two children, a son Brian and a daughter Stephanie.
Zhang died in San Francisco on December 1, 2018, at the age of 55, in an apparent suicide. His family said in a statement that he died "after fighting a battle with depression."
Scientific achievements
Zhang was one of the founders of the field of topological insulators. He made one of the first theoretical proposals of the quantum spin Hall effect. Soon after the initial theoretical proposal, his group theoretically predicted the first realistic quantum spin Hall material in HgTe quantum wells. This prediction was soon confirmed experimentally, launching worldwide research activities. Subsequently, his group predicted numerous novel topological states of matter and topological effects, including the Bi2Se3 family of 3D topological insulator
A topological insulator is a material whose interior behaves as an electrical insulator while its surface behaves as an electrical conductor, meaning that electrons can only move along the surface of the material.
A topological insulator is an ...
s, the topological magneto-electric effect, the quantum anomalous Hall effect in magnetic topological insulators, time-reversal invariant topological superconductors, and the realization of a chiral topological superconductor and of chiral Majorana fermion
A Majorana fermion (, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 5 October 2014; and also based on the pronunciation of physicist's name.), also referred to as a Majorana particle, is a fermion that is its own antiparticle. They were hypothesised by Et ...
s using the quantum anomalous Hall state in proximity with a superconductor. Most of these predicted properties have now been experimentally observed.
Earlier, Zhang also made significant contributions to other areas of physics. He and collaborators derived a topological (Chern–Simons form
In mathematics, the Chern–Simons forms are certain secondary characteristic classes. The theory is named for Shiing-Shen Chern and James Harris Simons, co-authors of a 1974 paper entitled "Characteristic Forms and Geometric Invariants," from whic ...
) quantum field theoretic description of the novel properties of fractional quantum Hall liquids, and proposed a global phase diagram for the quantum Hall states with many features that have had since been experimentally observed. He generalized the theory of fractional quantum Hall effect to higher dimensions and related it to fundamental particle physics. He also proposed an influential theory of high-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-c or HTS) are defined as materials that behave as superconductors at temperatures above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The adjective "high temperature" is only in respect to previ ...
based on an extended symmetry principle.
In early 2000, Zhang and collaborators revitalized the field of spintronics by proposing an intrinsic spin Hall effect and relating it to geometrical phases in quantum mechanics. This proposal stimulated extensive theoretical and experimental work, and also contributed to later developments concerning the quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators more generally.
Between the years 2010–2015, Zhang and his group of physicists at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
wrote three theoretical papers where they successfully showed how to test Ettore Majorana
Ettore Majorana (,, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 14 December 2019 ; born on 5 August 1906 – possibly dying after 1959) was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked on neutrino masses. On 25 March 1938, he disappeared under mysteri ...
's theory of Majorana fermion
A Majorana fermion (, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 5 October 2014; and also based on the pronunciation of physicist's name.), also referred to as a Majorana particle, is a fermion that is its own antiparticle. They were hypothesised by Et ...
, or what had previously been only a scientific hypothesis that a particle can be its own antiparticle
In particle physics, every type of particle is associated with an antiparticle with the same mass but with opposite physical charges (such as electric charge). For example, the antiparticle of the electron is the positron (also known as an antie ...
, without the need of external forces having the same mass with the opposite charge of the electron.
Honors and awards
Zhang was a fellow of the American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
. He received the Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
in 2007, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize in 2009, the Europhysics Prize The EPS CMD Europhysics Prize is awarded (currently every 2nd year) since 1975 by the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, in recognition of recent work (completed in the 5 years preceding the attribution of the award) by one ...
in 2010, the Oliver Buckley Prize
The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics." It was endowed by AT&T Bell Lab ...
in 2012, the Dirac Medal
The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...
and Prize in 2012, the Physics Frontiers Prize in 2013, the "Nobel-class" Citation Laureates by Thomson Reuters in 2014, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2015. He was identified as one of the top candidates for the Nobel Prize by Thomson Reuters in 2014. He was elected as a member of the US National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
in 2015.
*Fellow, American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
*Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
*Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
, 2007
*Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize, 2009
*Europhysics Prize The EPS CMD Europhysics Prize is awarded (currently every 2nd year) since 1975 by the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, in recognition of recent work (completed in the 5 years preceding the attribution of the award) by one ...
, 2010[
*]Oliver Buckley Prize
The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics." It was endowed by AT&T Bell Lab ...
, 2012
*Dirac Medal
The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...
of the ICTP, 2012
*Physics Frontier Prize, 2013
*"Nobel-class" Citation Laureates by Thomson Reuters, 2014
*Benjamin Franklin Medal, 2015
*Member, National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
(NAS)
*Foreign Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
Selected publications
*"Quantum spin hall effect in HgTe quantum well theoretically predicted"
*"Quantum spin hall effect in HgTe quantum well experimentally demonstrated"
*"Topological field theory
In gauge theory and mathematical physics, a topological quantum field theory (or topological field theory or TQFT) is a quantum field theory which computes topological invariants.
Although TQFTs were invented by physicists, they are also of math ...
of time-reversal invariant insulators"
*"Topological insulators in Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3"
*Topological insulators and superconductors". ''Reviews of Modern Physics
''Reviews of Modern Physics'' (abbreviated RMP) is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Physical Society. It was established in 1929 and the current editor-in-chief is Michael Thoennessen. The journal publishes re ...
''
References
External links
Former Stanford profile page of Shoucheng Zhang (via Archive.org)
Former Stanford web page of S.C.Zhang Group (via Archive.org)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Shoucheng
1963 births
2018 suicides
American physicists
Chinese emigrants to the United States
Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Free University of Berlin alumni
Fudan University alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Physicists from Shanghai
Stanford University Department of Physics faculty
Stony Brook University alumni
Tsinghua University faculty
Educators from Shanghai
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners
Suicides in California
Fellows of the American Physical Society