On the morning of September 24th, the famous theoretical physicist Gerard 't Hooft, Professor at University of Utrecht, and the honorary doctor of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), was invited to visit our university. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G. Veltman "for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions". Vice president CHEN Chusheng had a meeting with him, and they reviewed Prof. Hooft's first visit to USTC in 2004.
Vice President CHEN Chusheng introduced the development trend and academic achievements of USTC in recent years to Prof. Gerard't Hooft. Afterwards, USTC press invited Prof. Gerard't Hooft to write a preface for the Chinese version of his popular publication Playing with Planets, which will be published by USTC press.
In this book, Prof. Gerard 't Hooft confidently dissects fact from fiction and shows us what our future might really hold. Prof. Gerard 't Hooft takes the reader firmly by the hand and, within the boundaries of solid physics and proven laws of nature, takes us on a ride into the world of the future, which holds remarkable surprises for us all. We meet robots with a sense of irony, ride elevators into space, and build floating cities; let us just say that Playing with Planet which is translated from the original Dutch edition by Prof. Gerard 't Hooft’s daughter Saskia, supports the old adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
After the meeting, Prof. Gerard't Hooft gave a report which named The March of the Quanta for teachers and students in USTC. The report was presided over by Vice President CHEN Chusheng. PAN Yaqun, a member of the Party committee of Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Anhui Province and the director of Anhui Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, made a speech before the report.
Prof. Gerard 't Hooft first talked about his early life, education and research experience in the Netherlands, and then cut to the chase——the ubiquitous quantum world. Professor Gerard 't Hooft described quantum mechanics vividly in plain language. He also introduced the success of quantum mechanics in the interpretation of black-body radiation and atomic and molecular structure. Physicists tried to combine quantum mechanics to relativity theory, in this circumstances, quantum field theory is gradually established. Prof. Gerard 't Hooft has done a lot of work in this field and has made important contribution in the study of electroweak interactions. Finally, Prof. Gerard' t Hooft provided an outlook of the future of the application of quantum mechanics in quantum computing, quantum communication, superconducting materials and other fields.
At the end of the report, Prof. Gerard't Hooft had a warm academic exchange and discussion with the audience. He answered students’ questions patiently and encouraged them to follow the steps of scientific research.
After the report, SONG Wei, dean of the School of Public Affairs, on behalf of the magazine: Science and Laws, had an interview with Prof. Gerard 't Hooft. The magazine which organized by China Law Association on Science and Technology is hosted by USTC. In the end, Prof. Gerard 't Hooft sent his good messages to USTC.
(YANG Xinqi, USTC News Center, Image by Office of International Cooperation)