Established in 1928, the Department of Physics of Zhejiang University has been the cradle of many key contributions to the physical sciences. The Department of Physics was renamed the School of Physics in March 2022 which has marked a new stage in the comprehensive construction and development of the physics discipline. Prof. Haiqing Lin, a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, has joined the Zhejiang University community as dean of the School of Physics. In December of the same year, to promote exchanges, cooperation and development of physics and its interdisciplinary disciplines, Zhejiang University established the Institute for Advanced Study in Physics.

Presently, there are 154 teaching and administrative staff, of which 58 are professors. Thirteen of them have been awarded The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and seven of them have been appointed as Changjiang Scholars by Ministry of Education of China. Six current faculty members are members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and five are APS fellows. The research disciplines of the School of Physics concentrate on high energy physics, theoretical physics, condensed matter physics, plasma physics, optics, applied physics, and biological physics. The school consists of the following institutes: Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics, Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Optics, Institute for Fusion Theory and Simulation, Center for Correlated Matter and Institute of Applied Physics. The school is also home to the Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, and part of the National Key Laboratory of Silicon Material as well as the National Key Laboratory of Optical Engineering.

High energy physics (HEP) and nuclear physics research at Zhejiang University can be traced back to 1930s. The current HEP group is one of the largest HEP theory groups in China and their research focuses on both the formal aspects (quantum field theory and S-matrix/quantum gravity) and phenomenological aspects (precision quantum chromodynamics, beyond-standard-model physics, collider phenomenology) of HEP. The group has several world-renowned physicists, including Ming-Xing Luo, known for his contribution in precision electroweak testing of the standard model as well as gauge coupling unification; Bo Feng, whose name is featured as the “F” in the BCFW recursion relations for the scattering amplitudes; and Ellis Y. Yuan, whose name is featured as the “Y” in the CHY formulation which interprets scattering amplitudes as geometric objects in topological space.

Condensed matter physics research at ZJU started in the 1980s with its focus surface physics and superconductivity. The surface physics group made the first few scanning tunneling microscope in China. Founded by Qi-Rui Zhang and currently led by Zhu-An Xu and Hui-Qiu Yuan, the superconductivity group has created world records in the critical temperatures of superconductors multiple times. The current research concentrates on unconventional superconductors such as iron-based and heavy fermion system superconductors. Frank Steglich is the director of the newly established Center for Correlated Matter. Within the last ten years, a new research direction for quantum computing was founded by Hao-Hua Wang which focuses on quantum computing and simulation based on superconducting Josephson junctions.

The Institute of Optics, led by Shi-Yao Zhu (Lamb Medal winner, known for finding lasing without inversion and spontaneous emission cancellation), conducts experimental and theoretical research in quantum optics, quantum information, cold atoms, precision measurement, coherent control of light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics.

The school also includes a plasma physics group. The group conducts plasma physics research in magnetic and inertial confinement fusion, space plasma physics, and high energy density physics. The group boasts a small assortment of world-class plasma physicists, including Liu Chen, a recipient of APS’s James Clerk Maxwell Prize in Plasma Physics and EPS’s Hannes Alfvén Prize. The current group leader is Guo-Yong Fu (APS fellow).