The 2022 Guo Guangcan Award for Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Optics by the Chinese Optical Society was recently announced. Xia Shiqi, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Physics, Nankai University and a doctoral student of the 2018 cohort of Nankai, won the award, which was only presented to five dissertations nationwide.

The award-winning doctoral dissertation is entitled “Research on Topological Phenomenon in Weak-light Nonlinear Photonic Lattice”. In the project, the pioneering technology of direct writing with continuous laser was used to study the topological properties of Hermitian and non-Hermitian topological structures experimentally and theoretically. The results produced have important potential application value in optical communication, energy transfer, dynamic regulation, etc.

Xia Shiqi graduated with a doctorate in optics from the School of Physics, Nankai University in 2021, mentored by Professor Chen Zhigang and Professor Song Daohong. He is now a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Physics, primarily engaged in research on nonlinear optics and topological photonics. 

Since 2018, Xia Shiqi has published 16 papers, including seven first-author (including co first-author) papers in world-leading academic journals such as Science, Physical Review Letters, Nature Communications, Light: Science & Applications, and Advanced Photonics. Among these papers, the paper “Nonlinear tuning of PT symmetry and non-Hermitian topological states” published in Science was selected for “China’s Top Ten Advances in Optics in 2021”. 

The Chinese Optical Society organizes the selection of winners for the Guo Guangcan Award for Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Optics, from doctoral dissertations in optics, optical engineering and relevant disciplines in China. It is aimed at encouraging the innovative spirit of talents of a high caliber, enhancing the doctoral education quality in related disciplines, and promoting the development of optics and optical engineering disciplines in China.

(Edited and translated by Nankai News Team)