This article is from:Tencent Technology,author:Tencent Technology, forwarded with authorization.

,author:

Dabai

, forwarded with authorization.

On December 6, Zhang Shousheng's family issued a statement confirming the news of the death of Chinese scientist Zhang Shousheng on December 1.

Zhang Shousheng died unexpectedly due to depression. Zhang Shousheng's family said in the obituary, "When we got this shocking news, we are deeply grateful for everyone's support and condolences."

Who is Zhang Shousheng? What contributions did scientists make? This article by Zhihu user "Gongzi Dabai" will help you understand a complete Zhang Shousheng.

The following is the full text of the article by Zhihu user "Gongzi Dabai":

In 2010, he won the European Physics Prize.

In 2012, he was awarded the Dirac Prize.

In 2014, he won the Franklin Award of the United States.

Who are the recipients of these awards? They have a common name, Zhang Shousheng. He has been predicted by Thomson Reuters for many years to win the Nobel Prize, and it is probably only a matter of time before he wins the Nobel Prize. I hope it is not like Haruki Murakami who spends his whole life studying with the prince.

secondary title

1. The boy in the attic

In 1963, Zhang Shousheng was born in Shanghai. The Cultural Revolution hadn't started at that time, but the Cultural Revolution that started in 1966 also made his studies difficult. There was no room for a desk in the noisy and spacious Huangpu River.

But because he loves to read, he also has some troubles. Some classmates like to tease this "nerd". Although his parents used to be engineers, now they have to work as workers. No one can protect Xiao Shoucheng who is being bullied by classmates. This made Xiao Shousheng hide even more in his own world, in the attic full of wonders.

In 1976, Xiao Shousheng was 13 years old in a blink of an eye. The world outside the attic has changed for another day. Fresh and interesting information and materials stimulate everyone's nerves, but Xiao Shoucheng is the only one left out. This year, his father bought him a set of high school self-study textbooks, including mathematics, physics, chemistry and so on. Relying on this set of books, he actually passed the college entrance examination two years later in 1978. Of course, that was the first session of the resumption of the college entrance examination after the Cultural Revolution. He was only 15 years old this year.

Later Zhang Shoucheng said: "My junior high school is very poor. If I go to ordinary high school step by step, the result may be different from today. The achievements in life are always related to your choices at some crossroads." To participate, there are only 10 places per district. This made the attic boy ready to move. He once said: "Uncle's college graduation yearbook has a vivid description of college. I have been looking forward to college life since I was a child. Although I was a junior high school student, under the environment at that time, high school students did not have more knowledge than me, so I still have some confidence." But if you don't pass, you won't have a chance to go to high school. This is the first adventure in Zhang Shousheng's life. After heated discussions, his parents agreed with him. In this way, accidentally, after the college entrance examination, he entered the place where his grandfather had been, Fudan University. The college entrance examination that year changed the fate of many people, including Zhang Shousheng. I have to say that Zhang Shousheng is indeed a "genius" to some extent.

secondary title

2. College students who have not attended high school

In Fudan, he only attended school for one year. why? Because of his excellent grades in the college entrance examination, he was already selected as a candidate to study in Germany as soon as he entered the school. In fact, life does not depend on relationships everywhere, does it?

When he entered the university, he chose the physics department. This is because, "In junior high school, in a very closed situation, we all knew that Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao won the Nobel Prize, which won a sigh of relief for the Chinese nation. When I chose theoretical physics in college, it was because of their role models. "It can be seen that it is not those knowledge, but those people who can guide young people to learn science. Of course, Zhang Shoucheng didn't know at this time that he would have an extraordinary fate with Yang Zhenning in the future.

When Zhang Shousheng arrived in West Berlin, the Berlin Wall was still standing. Some teachers and students from the University of Berlin in the east came to West Berlin for freedom and established the Free University of Berlin. The Free University of Berlin really lives up to its name, and its school motto is "truth, fairness, and freedom." Zhang Shoucheng was only 17 years old this year. He did not let himself be completely free in Liberty University. He was diligent and completed the required five-year schooling system in only three years. However, Zhang Shoucheng was still a little confused after finishing his studies.

At the Free University of Berlin, he studied theoretical physics, which is the major of Li Zhengdao and Yang Zhenning. But approaching graduation, he was a little overwhelmed. The employment of theoretical physics is too narrow. "I was quite confident at first, but the worries among my classmates affected me. Around 1981, I began to think about the future." In the summer vacation of that year, in order to relax his worries, he hitchhiked around Germany . This knight-like romantic trip had an important impact on Zhang Shousheng's life choices.

By chance, he went to the University of Göttingen. There is a cemetery next to the University of Göttingen, where many physicists are buried. The most peculiar thing is that there is no epitaph on everyone's tombstone, only a formula he discovered during his lifetime. For example, the uncertainty principle is on the tombstone of Heisenberg, the wave function is on the tombstone of Born, and a nuclear reaction formula is on the tombstone of Otto Hahn. "A simple tombstone, a simple and universal formula, this is the highest state of life. From then on, I decided to devote my whole life to the research of physics, especially the research of theoretical physics." Several tombstones It shocked the young Zhang Shousheng, and since then Zhang Shousheng has made up his mind to take the road of scientific research. "What do you want to leave in this life?" It is enough to leave a formula.

secondary title

3. Not a disciple of Yang Zhenning's successor

When studying at the Free University of Berlin, Zhang Shoucheng regarded the grand unified theory as his academic goal. Because this is the career that Einstein has worked hard for all his life, and it is also Yang Zhenning's field. But when he really became Yang Zhenning's disciple, Yang Zhenning did not support his idea. At the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Mr. Yang Zhenning recommended Zhang Shousheng to engage in condensed matter physics. The reason is that this thing is in the ascendant and is developing very fast, which is very suitable for young people to engage in it. And this is not Yang Zhenning's field.

In 2006, Zhang Shoucheng proposed a material implementation plan for the theory of topological insulators. What is a topological insulator? To put it simply, first of all it is an insulator, and the whole is non-conductive. But on the edge or surface of the object, there are always areas that conduct electricity. This edge conduction property can exist stably under certain conditions, because the spins of electrons in different moving directions are opposite, and information can be transmitted through the spins of electrons. It is still very troublesome to say this, in short, you know that it is very complicated, sophisticated and powerful.

The quantum spin Hall effect was first proposed before this. Of course, this is what Zhang Shousheng first predicted. It is even more difficult to understand this theory, you first need to understand the Hall effect, then the quantum Hall effect, etc... In short, you know that the quantum spin Hall effect does not require the low temperature and strong magnetic field of the quantum Hall effect, Therefore, saving electricity and saving space, as long as it can be used in practice, our electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones can be made smaller, consume less power and reduce heat dissipation, so this theory is very powerful. (A layman, please point out any mistakes)

In short, because of these two theoretical discoveries, Zhang Shoucheng won the European Physics Prize issued by the European Physical Society in 2010, and the Oliver Buckley Award and the Dirac Award, the highest award in condensed matter physics issued by the American Physical Society in 2012. When it comes to the Franklin Award in the United States, according to the law, both the quantum Hall effect and the fractional quantum Hall effect have won the Nobel Prize. Will the quantum spin Hall effect continue this myth?

secondary title

4. Investors who are not poor teachers

The cowboy is very busy, and Zhang Shoucheng is also very busy. He is not only good at scientific research, but also good at being a teacher. His students have already spread all over the world, and there are many who have become professors. Moreover, he is no longer a poor teacher. At Stanford, he is not only a professor, but also co-founded Huayuan Science and Technology Association, serves as an entrepreneurial mentor at Stanford, and is also an angel investor. He has successfully invested in many start-up companies. In 2013, he co-founded Danhua Capital with Zhongguancun Development Group, focusing on investing in companies with a Stanford background. Some people say that those who devote themselves to scientific research must endure loneliness, poverty, and nothing in their life.

Today Zhang Shousheng is not short of money, career, or lonely. As long as he can live to be 80, he still has 30 years to wait for the Nobel. Although he is American, if he wins the prize, he will be the first Nobel laureate who was born with a Chinese educational background after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Oh, right. He also seems to be a Christian. In fact, this is nothing. Who says scientists can't be religious? Religion is nothing more than a tool to soothe the soul to some extent. Of course, don't just look at his American citizenship. A nationality does not change anything. He is also a Cheung Kong Scholar at Tsinghua University and a candidate for the Thousand Talents Program.