MIT Physicists Honored with McMillan Award for Groundbreaking Discovery

Physicists affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have received the prestigious McMillan Award for their pioneering work on an exotic electronic state known as the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect (FQAHE). This discovery, made last year and reported in the journal Nature, reveals that electrons can behave as fractions of themselves within graphene, a one-atom-thick form of carbon. The implications of this research may lead to more advanced and robust forms of quantum computing.

The awardees, Jiaqi Cai and Zhengguang Lu, are being recognized for their contributions to the discovery of FQAHE in two-dimensional moiré materials. Cai currently serves as a Pappalardo Fellow at MIT, working under the guidance of Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics. His initial discovery of FQAHE occurred while he was in the laboratory of Xiaodong Xu at the University of Washington. Lu made his discovery while serving as a postdoctoral researcher in Ju’s lab before taking on his current role as an assistant professor at Florida State University.

Cai and Lu’s independent findings emerged within the same year, marking a significant advancement in condensed matter physics. “The McMillan Award is the highest honor that a young condensed matter physicist can receive,” stated Long Ju, the Lawrence and Sarah W. Biedenharn Career Development Associate Professor in the MIT Department of Physics. “My colleagues and I in the Condensed Matter Experiment and the Condensed Matter Theory Group are very proud of Zhengguang and Jiaqi.”

The McMillan Award not only includes a monetary prize and a plaque but also an opportunity for the recipients to present a colloquium on their work at the University of Illinois this coming fall. Both Cai and Lu are also affiliated with the Materials Research Laboratory, further emphasizing the collaborative nature of their groundbreaking research.

The recognition of these young physicists highlights the importance of their work in advancing the understanding of quantum phenomena and its potential applications in technology. Their discoveries represent a promising step forward in the quest for more efficient quantum computing systems, paving the way for future innovations in the field.