The unveiling ceremony of the Peng Huanwu Center for Fundamental Theory was held on May 10 at Northwest University. It was an important activity of the 17th Peng Huanwu Forum on Theoretical Physics held in the school, which is headquartered in Xi’an, Shaanxi province in Northwest China.  

The forum and ceremony are held in Northwest University’s Chang'an campus on Monday.  

Dong Guoxuan, executive deputy director of the Mathematics and Physics Department of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, congratulated the forum on behalf of the foundation and introduced the background, purpose and organization of the Peng Huanwu Forum on Theoretical Physics.

“I hope that through this forum, we can carry forward the scientific spirit of Peng Huanwu, attract more young people and students to join in physics research, promote the cross integration of theoretical physics and related disciplines, and promote young theoretical physicists to stand out,” Dong said.  

Peng Huanwu (1915-2007) was a famous physicist in China and the winner of "Two Bombs and One Star Medal for Meritorious Service". He was the pioneer and founder of China's nuclear cause and theoretical physics.

He graduated from Tsinghua University in 1935 and received a Ph.D. from Edinburgh University in 1940. He was elected as an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Ireland in 1948 and was among the first academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955.  

Peng was engaged in the basic and applied research of theoretical physics for a long time, and made pioneering advances in many fields such as quantum field theory, statistical physics and condensed matter theory.

The unveiling ceremony of the Peng Huanwu Center for Fundamental Theory is held during the forum.  

Guo Lihong, president of Northwest University, said at the center’s unveiling ceremony that the establishment of the Peng Huanwu Center for Fundamental Theory by the National Natural Science Foundation of China at Northwest University is not only recognition and encouragement by the university, but also a spur and expectation for the future.

He hoped that the theoretical physics team, with the strong support of the NSFC and the university, and under the guidance of Peng Huanwu's patriotic dedication, will face the international frontier, take root in the western region, devote themselves to scientific research, cultivate innovative talents, and contribute more to promoting the national innovation driven development strategy.

The theoretical physics discipline of Northwest University is the key construction discipline of the national "211 Project" and the key discipline of Shaanxi province (the National Key Discipline of Cultivation discipline), and owns the first batch of doctoral authorized points. Its mobile physics postdoctoral research station was one of the first postdoctoral research mobile stations in China.