Chinese physicist Pan Jianwei has received the third UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences, becoming the first scientist from China to win the award.
UNESCO said in a statement on July 10 that Pan Jianwei is recognised for his seminal contributions to large-scale secure quantum communications and scalable quantum computation.
Pan, a physics professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, leads a team that developed the Micius satellite. The satellite enabled quantum key distribution and quantum teleportation over thousands of kilometres and demonstrated quantum computational advantage.
Pan shares the prize with Sergei Sheiko, a chemistry professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who is recognised for polymer physics research that transformed the rational design of soft materials.
The annual award, funded by the Russian government, honours two scientists for discoveries in basic sciences that drive global or regional transformation. It commemorates Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.
