Laying a New Cornerstone in Quantum Physics

Prof. LAW Kam-Tuen, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics and the Director of Research Office at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has been named "New Cornerstone Investigator" by the Tencent-funded New Cornerstone Science Foundation for his extraordinary achievements in quantum physics.

He has been endowed with funding to establish a New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, inaugurated on May 28. The award - up to RMB 15 million over five years from the New Cornerstone Science Foundation - will support Prof. Law and his team's research in quantum physics. He is the second HKUST researcher to receive this prestigious title, following Prof. Xi DAI, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics, who was awarded in 2023.

Present at the ceremony were Prof. Nancy IP, President of HKUST; Prof. Tim CHENG, Vice-President for Research and Development; Prof. Charles NG, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement; Prof. Yung-Hou WONG, Dean of Science, Ms. Rose WANG, Chair of the New Cornerstone Science Foundation, and Dr. James LI, Vice President of Public Affairs at Tencent.

Prestigious Designations

Officiating at the inauguration, Prof. Ip noted that Prof. Law earned his B.Sc. from HKUST's Department of Physics and later obtained a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University. After serving as a Croucher Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, he returned to HKUST as a faculty member in 2011. Prof. Ip commended Prof. Law’s achievement as a testament to HKUST’s excellent record in nurturing research talent.

“Today’s inauguration of the New Cornerstone Science Laboratory marks an exciting milestone for  HKUST. This facility embodies the University’s mission to drive pioneering, transformative research,” she said.

“We are very proud of Prof. Law and will continue to empower our scientists as they strive to expand research frontiers and build technological innovations to address the challenges and needs of Hong Kong, the nation, and the world,” she continued.

Addressing the audience on behalf of the New Cornerstone Science Foundation, Ms. Wang praised the splendid achievement of Prof. Law. She said: “Prof. Law is the only scholar from Hong Kong among the 35 New Cornerstone Investigators selected in the third cohort.”

She added: “Our mission is straightforward: to identify exceptional scientific talent and empower them to pursue curiosity-driven research, providing ample resources free from external interference.”

Outstanding Achievements

An internationally renowned physicist, Prof. Law has made significant contributions to the study of topological superconductors and other topological materials. In 2015, he achieved a breakthrough with the co-discovery of a new type of superconductor, known as the Ising superconductor, in collaboration with two experimental groups in the Netherlands and the United States.

“I am truly honored to be selected as a New Cornerstone Investigator. The generous support of the New Cornerstone Foundation will allow me to explore flat band quantum materials for research without worrying about funding constraints,” he said.

“I am fully confident that this support will greatly deepen our understanding of flat band materials, add a new chapter to quantum materials research, and help train the next generation of PhD students and postdocs,” he added.

For more information on the New Cornerstone Science Foundation and the list of projects under research, please click here.