Prof. SUN Liangting, a researcher from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Nishikawa Tetsuji Prize at the 16th International Particle Accelerator Conference (IPAC) held in Taiwan on June 5.

As the first scholar from the Chinese mainland to win this honor, Prof. SUN was recognized for his significant contributions in the research and development of highly-charged Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion sources, particularly the superconducting highly-charged ECR ion sources, a cutting-edge technology for heavy ion accelerators.

Via series of innovations and key technology breakthroughs, Prof. SUN has led his team setting most of the world records for beam intensity of highly-charged ions generated by ion sources. They have also pioneered the application of Nb₃Sn superconducting magnets to ECR ion sources, and successfully developed the world’s first fourth-generation 45 GHz ECR source (FECR).

The high-performance superconducting ECR ion sources developed at IMP have not only provided advanced experimental conditions for heavy ion physics and applications in China, but also contributed enormously to the worldwide high-performance ECR ion source development.

IPAC is the world’s largest annual conference on particle accelerators and their industrial applications. Held in rotation across Asia, the Americas, and Europe, it attracts over 1,000 global scholars and serves as a key platform for sharing the latest research advancements and the development of future accelerator facilities in the global accelerator community.

Each year, IPAC presents three categories of awards to honor scholars who have made exceptional contributions to accelerator science and technology. To commemorate three outstanding predecessors in the Asian accelerator field, when the conference is held in Asia, the three awards are named as the Xie Jialin Prize, the Nishikawa Tetsuji Prize, and the Hogil Kim Prize, respectively.

Figure. SUN Liangting received the Nishikawa Tetsuji Prize. (Image from IMP)