From 22 June to 7 July 2024, the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion (SGC) organized a trip to Germany for a delegation of outstanding Chinese Physics students and doctoral candidates. Before attending the 73rd Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, they visited selected universities and research institutions in Bonn, Kaiserslautern, Tübingen and Munich.

The day before the departure, a training session was held on the premises of the SGC in Beijing, followed by the awarding of certificates. Dou Xiankang, President of the NSFC, gave a speech, while Lan Yujie, Vice President of the NSFC, chaired the meeting and presented the certificates. President Dou Xiankang first congratulated the 22 doctoral students and 8 undergraduate physics students who were selected to represent China at the 73rd Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau. He said that the NSFC, as the most important funding organization for basic research in China, is committed to systematically strengthening the promotion of innovative talents. One of the most important initiatives to attract young talent to basic research is a pilot project to support outstanding students and doctoral candidates. He hopes that the participants will be able to use this trip for intensive academic exchange and discussions with Nobel Laureates and young scientists from different countries. At the same time, he also expects the students to demonstrate their academic excellence. Zhang Yongtao, Deputy Director-General, Bureau of the International Cooperation of the NSFC, Yin Wenxuan, Chinese Director of the SGC and Deputy Director General of the Department of International Programmes of NSFC, were also in attendance.

Ceremonial awarding of the certificates at the SGC, Beijing

From June 22 to 29, 2024, the delegation visited four German universities: the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, the University Kaiserslautern-Landau, the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München.

The first scientific stop on the Lindau Tour was the Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics in Bonn. After an introductory lecture on effective field theories and presentations on low-dimensional materials and quantum computing, the students had in-depth discussions with the scientists.

In Kaiserslautern, the delegation visited the Laboratory for Advanced Spin Engineering (LASE) and learned about research into atomic and photonic control systems as well as quantum research as part of a Collaborative Research Center funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

In Tübingen, the program included laboratory tours (including space-based astronomy and Rydberg atoms in optical resonators) and lectures on neutrino experiments, gravitational waves and X-ray satellites. A Chinese doctoral student, who had already completed her Master's degree in Physics in Tübingen, talked about daily life in the university city.

In Munich, the group visited the Institute of Physics at LMU. After an introduction to the topic of the interdisciplinary ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence, which is dedicated to investigating the origin of the Universe and life, the biophysical experiments carried out at the LMU to search for the initial conditions of life were presented.

The Lindau Group visits the Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Bonn

The Lindau Group visits the University Kaiserslautern-Landau

The Lindau Group visits Tübingen (Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics)

The Lindau Group visits the Institute of Physics at the LMU, Munich

On June 23, the delegation was invited by the Chinese Embassy in Germany to a reception held at the former embassy in Bonn. Representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Berlin attended the event. Mr. Huang Wei and Mr. Chen Linhao from the Department of Education and the Department of Science and Technology congratulated the delegation and expressed in their speeches the hope that the Chinese students and young scientists would gain a completely new understanding of scientific research and a variety of perspectives through the Lindau-Tour and their participation in the Lindau Meeting. They hoped that the exchange between young scientists from China and Germany would further promote the development of scientific cooperation between the two countries. Ingrid Krüßmann, Deputy Head of the International Affairs Division of DFG und German Direktor of the SGC, Liu Xiuping, ChineseVice Director of the SGC, and Prof. Wang Daqing from Bonn University and representative of the Vereinigung Chinesischer Physiker in Deutschland (ACPSG), also gave speeches, while the Deputy Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Düsseldorf, Huang Ying, attended the reception.

Lindau delegation with representatives of the Chinese Embassy

On June 24, the delegation visited the DFG Head Office, where Ingrid Krüßmann welcomed the students. Together with representatives from the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (AvH) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), DFG staff presented their respective funding organizations and showed which funding lines and programmes are available to Chinese early career researchers wishing to pursue studies or research in Germany. 

Presentations at the DFG Head Office, Bonn

The Lindau Group visits the DFG Head Office in Bonn

From June 30 to July 5, the delegation attended the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which was dedicated to the discipline of Physics. Almost 40 Nobel Laureates and more than 650 undergraduates, master students, PhD students, and postdocs from all over the world participated in the meeting.

The SCG provided the third largest delegation after Germany and the USA. Yin Wenxuan, Chinese Director of the SGC and Deputy Director General of the Department of International Programmes of NSFC, Zheng Zhimin, Director, Division of Programs, Bureau of Planning, NSFC, Matthias Kiesselbach, German Director of the SGC, and Ylva Schuberth, German Vice Director of the SGC, accompanied the delegation to the conference. 

Members of the SGC Lindau Group with Nobel Laureate Steven Chu

Members of the SGC Lindau Group with Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novolselov

Some of the students sponsored by SGC in the Inselhalle, Lindau

Prior to the conference, Wang Wei, a doctoral student at the School Physics at Nanjing University was selected as one of 21 speakers to present her research as part of the “Next Generation Science” format in an online vote among the participating young scientists. In the fully occupied Stadthalle of Lindau, Wang Wei presented her latest work on the Combination of Artificial Intelligence and Disordered Medium to Overcome Long-standing Dilemma of Ultrasound Imaging to young scientists from all over the world and a number of Nobel Laureates.

Next Generation Science presentation, Stadthalle Lindau