Shoucheng Zhang

Shoucheng Zhang (Chinese: 张 首 晟 ; February 15,

1963 – December 1, 2018) was a Chinese-American Shoucheng Zhang
physicist who was the JG Jackson and CJ Wood
professor of physics at Stanford University. He was a
condensed matter theorist known for his work on
topological insulators, the quantum Hall effect, the
quantum spin Hall effect, spintronics, and high-
temperature superconductivity. According to the
National Academy of Sciences:[1]

He discovered a new state of matter called

topological insulator in which electrons
can conduct along the edge without
dissipation, enabling a new generation of
electronic devices with much lower power
consumption. For this ground breaking
work he received numerous international Born February 15, 1963
awards, including the Buckley Prize, the Shanghai, China
Dirac Medal and Prize, the Europhysics Died December 1, 2018 (aged 55)
Prize, the Physics Frontiers Prize and the San Francisco, California, U.S.
Benjamin Franklin Medal. Nationality American
Alma mater Fudan University
Zhang founded the venture capital firm Danhua Freie Universität Berlin
Capital.[2] Stony Brook University (PhD)
Known for Quantum spin Hall effect
Topological insulators
Biography Field theory of quantum Hall
effect
Zhang was born in Shanghai, China in 1963. He was SO(5) theory of high-
accepted by Fudan University in 1978 at the age of 15, temperature superconductivity
and went abroad in 1980 to study at the Free
Awards Europhysics Prize (2010)
University of Berlin in West Berlin, where he received
Oliver Buckley Prize (2012)
his B.S. degree in 1983. He then pursued his graduate
Dirac Medal of the ICTP (2012)
studies at Stony Brook University (then referred to as
Physics Frontiers Prize in
State University of New York, Stony Brook). At Stony
Fundamental Physics (2013)
Brook, he initially studied supergravity (and earned his
Franklin Medal (2015)
Ph.D. in 1987) with his advisor Peter van
NAS (2015)
Nieuwenhuizen, before turning to condensed matter on
the advice of his personal hero, Nobel laureate Chen- Scientific career
Fields Physics
Ning Yang. In the final year at Stony Brook, he Institutions Stanford University
switched to condensed matter physics under the Fudan University
supervision of Steven Kivelson. Doctoral Peter van Nieuwenhuizen
advisor
Zhang was a postdoctoral Fellow at ITP in Santa
Barbara from 1987 to 1989. He then joined IBM
Almaden Research Center as a Research Staff Member from 1989 to 1993. Thereafter, he joined Stanford
University as Assistant Professor of Physics. Beginning in 2004, he concurrently held (by courtesy
appointment) titles of Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford
University. In 2007, the "quantum spin Hall effect" discovered by Zhang was named one of the "Top Ten
Important Scientific Breakthroughs in the World" by Science Magazine. In 2010, he was named the J. G.
Jackson and C. J. Wood Professor in Physics.[3]

In 2009, Zhang was chosen to be a part of an expert panel for the Thousand Talents Program. In 2013,
Zhang created Danhua Capital, a venture capital firm, which raised $434.5 million across two funds.[2]
Danhua Capital's major investors include state-owned Beijing government enterprise Zhongguancun
Development Group (ZDG), which has been linked to the Chinese technology transfer program Made in
China 2025.[4] He also served as an independent non-executive director at Lenovo Group and at Meitu.[5]

Zhang's wife Barbara is a software engineer at IBM. They met in kindergarten, in Shanghai. Together
they have two children, a son Brian and a daughter Stephanie.[6]

Zhang died in San Francisco on December 1, 2018, at the age of 55, in an apparent suicide. His family
said in a statement that he died "after fighting a battle with depression."[7][8][9]

Scientific achievements
Zhang was one of the founders of the field of topological insulators. He made one of the first theoretical
proposals of the quantum spin Hall effect. Soon after the initial theoretical proposal, his group
theoretically predicted the first realistic quantum spin Hall material in HgTe quantum wells.[10] This
prediction was soon confirmed experimentally,[11] launching worldwide research activities. Subsequently,
his group predicted numerous novel topological states of matter and topological effects, including the
Bi2Se3 family of 3D topological insulators,[12] the topological magneto-electric effect,[13] the quantum
anomalous Hall effect in magnetic topological insulators, time-reversal invariant topological
superconductors, and the realization of a chiral topological superconductor and of chiral Majorana
fermions using the quantum anomalous Hall state in proximity with a superconductor. Most of these
predicted properties have now been experimentally observed.

Earlier, Zhang also made significant contributions to other areas of physics. He and collaborators derived
a topological (Chern–Simons form) quantum field theoretic description of the novel properties of
fractional quantum Hall liquids,[14] and proposed a global phase diagram for the quantum Hall states with
many features that have had since been experimentally observed. He generalized the theory of fractional
quantum Hall effect to higher dimensions and related it to fundamental particle physics. He also proposed
an influential theory of high-temperature superconductivity based on an extended symmetry principle.[15]
In early 2000, Zhang and collaborators revitalized the field of spintronics by proposing an intrinsic spin
Hall effect and relating it to geometrical phases in quantum mechanics. This proposal stimulated
extensive theoretical and experimental work, and also contributed to later developments concerning the
quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators more generally.

Between the years 2010–2015, Zhang and his group of physicists at Stanford University wrote three
theoretical papers where they successfully showed how to test Ettore Majorana's theory of Majorana
fermion, or what had previously been only a scientific hypothesis that a particle can be its own
antiparticle, without the need of external forces having the same mass with the opposite charge of the
electron.[16]

Honors and awards

Zhang was a fellow of the American Physical Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences. He received the Guggenheim fellowship in 2007, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize
in 2009, the Europhysics Prize in 2010,[17] the Oliver Buckley Prize in 2012, the Dirac Medal and Prize
in 2012, the Physics Frontiers Prize in 2013, the "Nobel-class" Citation Laureates by Thomson Reuters in
2014,[18] and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2015. He was identified as one of the top candidates for the
Nobel Prize by Thomson Reuters in 2014.[19] He was elected as a member of the US National Academy
of Sciences in 2015.

Fellow, American Physical Society

Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences[20]
Guggenheim Fellow, 2007
Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize, 2009
Europhysics Prize, 2010[17]
Oliver Buckley Prize, 2012 [21]
Dirac Medal of the ICTP, 2012 [22]
Physics Frontier Prize, 2013 [23][24]
"Nobel-class" Citation Laureates by Thomson Reuters, 2014 [25]
Benjamin Franklin Medal, 2015 [26][27]
Member, National Academy of Sciences (NAS)[28][1]
Foreign Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Selected publications
"Quantum spin hall effect in HgTe quantum well theoretically predicted"[29]
"Quantum spin hall effect in HgTe quantum well experimentally demonstrated"[30]
"Topological field theory of time-reversal invariant insulators"[13]
"Topological insulators in Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3"[31]
 Topological insulators and superconductors". Reviews of Modern Physics[32]

References
1. "Shoucheng Zhang" (http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20035
978.html). National Academy of Sciences. 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
2. Yang, Yingzhi; Huang, Zheping (December 6, 2018). "Zhang Shoucheng, Stanford physicist
and tech venture capitalist dies after 'a battle with depression' " (https://www.scmp.com/tech/
article/2176729/zhang-shoucheng-stanford-physicist-and-tech-venture-capitalist-dies-after).
South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
3. "SHOUCHENG ZHANG, Department of Physics, Stanford University" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20130118075744/https://physics.stanford.edu/people/faculty/shoucheng-zhang).
Archived from the original (https://physics.stanford.edu/people/faculty/shoucheng-zhang) on
January 18, 2013.
4. "Physicist linked to China program" (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/12/p
hysicist-linked-to-china-program/). Washington Times. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
5. "Renowned Stanford Physicist Shoucheng Zhang Dies at 55 - Caixin Global" (https://www.c
aixinglobal.com/2018-12-06/renowned-stanford-physicist-shoucheng-zhang-dies-at-55-1013
56210.html). www.caixinglobal.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
6. Zhang, Qidong (February 21, 2014). "Shoucheng Zhang: Maotai and a possible Nobel Prize
await this scientist" (http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-02/21/content_17295558.ht
m). China Daily. Retrieved December 7, 2018. "Zhang's wife Barbara, whom he has known
since kindergarten, is a software engineer at IBM."
7. Han Shengjiang 韩声江 (December 6, 2018). "美国华裔物理学家张首晟教授去世，终年55
岁" (https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2711884). The Paper. Retrieved
December 6, 2018.
8. Castelvecchi, Davide (December 8, 2018). "Topological-physics pioneer Shoucheng Zhang
dies: Theoretical physicist was among the first to predict that the phenomenon of topology
could lead to exotic states of matter" (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07709-y).
Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07709-y (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-018-07709-
y). S2CID 126400522 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:126400522). Retrieved
December 9, 2018.
9. Garisto, Daniel (December 10, 2018). "Shoucheng Zhang 1963-2018" (https://www.aps.org/
publications/apsnews/updates/zhang.cfm). American Physical Society. Retrieved May 20,
2019.
10. Bernevig, B. A.; Hughes, T.L.; Zhang, S. C. (2006). "Quantum spin Hall effect and
topological phase transition in HgTe quantum wells". Science. 314 (5806): 1757–1761.
arXiv:cond-mat/0611399 (https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0611399).
Bibcode:2006Sci...314.1757B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006Sci...314.1757B).
doi:10.1126/science.1133734 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1133734).
PMID 17170299 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17170299). S2CID 7295726 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:7295726).
11. König, M.; et al. (2007). "Quantum spin Hall insulator state in HgTe quantum wells".
Science. 318 (5851): 766–770. arXiv:0710.0582 (https://arxiv.org/abs/0710.0582).
Bibcode:2007Sci...318..766K (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007Sci...318..766K).
doi:10.1126/science.1148047 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1148047).
PMID 17885096 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17885096). S2CID 8836690 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:8836690).
12. Zhang, H. J.; et al. (2009). "Topological insulators in Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 with a single
Dirac cone on the surface". Nature Physics. 5 (6): 438–442. Bibcode:2009NatPh...5..438Z
(https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009NatPh...5..438Z). doi:10.1038/nphys1270 (https://do
i.org/10.1038%2Fnphys1270).
13. Qi, X. L.; Hughes, T.L.; Zhang, S. C. (2008). "Topological field theory of time-reversal
invariant insulators". Physical Review B. 78 (19): 195424. arXiv:0802.3537 (https://arxiv.org/
abs/0802.3537). Bibcode:2008PhRvB..78s5424Q (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008P
hRvB..78s5424Q). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.78.195424 (https://doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRev
B.78.195424). S2CID 117659977 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:117659977).
14. Zhang, S. C. (1992). "The Chern–Simons–Landau–Ginzburg theory of the fractional
quantum Hall effect". International Journal of Modern Physics B. 6 (1): 25–58.
doi:10.1142/S0217979292000037 (https://doi.org/10.1142%2FS0217979292000037).
15. Zhang, S. C. (1997). "A unified theory based on SO (5) symmetry of superconductivity and
antiferromagnetism". Science. 275 (5303): 1089–1096. doi:10.1126/science.275.5303.1089
(https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.275.5303.1089). PMID 9027303 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/9027303). S2CID 31998933 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:3199893
3).
16. Prof. Shoucheng Zhang, Shoucheng Zhang: "Quantum Computing, AI and Blockchain: The
Future of IT" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MozDSajpLTY) on YouTube, Lecture at
Google Corp. / June 2018, minutes 7:42 - ff.
17. "Topological quintet bags Europhysics prize" (https://physicsworld.com/a/topological-quintet-
bags-europhysics-prize/). Physics World. June 21, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
"Five physicists who brought us the quantum spin-Hall effect and topological insulators have
been awarded this year's Europhysics Prize from the European Physical Society's
condensed-matter division. The winners are Shoucheng Zhang of Stanford University;
Charles Kane and Eugene Mele of the University of Pennsylvania; and Hartmut Buhmann
and Laurens Molenkamp of Würzburg University in Germany."
18. "Meet The Scientists Who Could Win This Year's Physics Nobel Prize" (https://www.busines
sinsider.com/computing-physics-nobel-prize-candidates-2014-9). Business Insider.
September 25, 2014.
19. "Thomson Reuters Predicts 2014 Nobel Laureates, Researchers Forecast for Nobel
Recognition" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140929225027/http://thomsonreuters.com/pres
s-releases/092014/2014-nobel-laureates-predictions). Thomson Reuters. September 20,
2014. Archived from the original (http://thomsonreuters.com/press-releases/092014/2014-no
bel-laureates-predictions) on September 29, 2014.
20. "Eight Stanford scholars named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences" (https://news.st
anford.edu/news/2011/april/aaas-stanford-fellows-042211.html). News.stanford.edu. April
22, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
21. "Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize" (https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/pr
izerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Zhang&first_nm=Shoucheng&year=2012). Aps.org. July 27, 2011.
Retrieved December 7, 2018. "For the theoretical prediction and experimental observation
of the quantum spin Hall effect, opening the field of topological insulators."
22. "A Triumph for Theoretical Physics: Medallists recognise Dirac's undeniable influence in the
development of topological insulator theories" (https://www.ictp.it/about-ictp/media-centre/ne
ws/news-archive/2013/7/a-triumph-for-theoretical-physics.aspx). International Center for
Theoretical Physics. July 4, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2018. "The three condensed
matter physicists, F. Duncan M. Haldane (Princeton University, USA), Charles L. Kane
(University of Pennsylvania, USA) and Shoucheng Zhang (Stanford University, USA), whose
research paved the way for advancing knowledge about topological insulators were
presented their Dirac Medals at an award ceremony held on 4 July 2013 at ICTP."
23. "Physics Frontier Prize" (https://physics.stanford.edu/news/shoucheng-zhang-wins-2013-ph
ysics-frontiers-prize). physics.stanford.edu. January 2013.
24. "Laureates: Shoucheng Zhang" (https://breakthroughprize.org/Laureates/L47).
BreakthroughPrize.org. 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2018. "2013 Physics Frontiers Prize in
Fundamental Physics: For the theoretical prediction and experimental discovery of
topological insulators"
25. "Thomson Reuters Predicts 2014 Nobel Laureates, Researchers Forecast for Nobel
Recognition" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140926032625/http://thomsonreuters.com/pres
s-releases/092014/2014-nobel-laureates-predictions). Thomson Reuters. Archived from the
original (http://thomsonreuters.com/press-releases/092014/2014-nobel-laureates-prediction
s) on September 26, 2014.
26. "Benjamin Franklin Medal" (https://news.stanford.edu/thedish/2014/11/03/shoucheng-zhang
-wins-franklin-medal-in-physics/). news.stanford.edu. November 3, 2014.
27. "Shoucheng Zhang" (https://www.fi.edu/laureates/shoucheng-zhang). Franklin Institute.
2015. Retrieved December 7, 2018. "Citation: With Charles Kane and Eugene Mele, for their
groundbreaking theoretical contributions leading to the discovery of a new class of materials
called topological insulators, and for their prediction of specific compounds exhibiting the
novel properties expected of these new materials."
28. "Nine Stanford faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences" (https://news.sta
nford.edu/2015/04/30/national-academy-sciences-043015/). news.stanford.edu. April 30,
2015.
29. Bernevig, B. A.; Hughes, T. L.; Zhang, S.-C.; Roth, Andreas; Buhmann, Hartmut;
Molenkamp, Laurens W.; Qi, Xiao-Liang; Zhang, Shou-Cheng (December 15, 2006).
"Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Topological Phase Transition in HgTe Quantum Wells".
Science. 314 (5806): 1757–1761. arXiv:cond-mat/0611399 (https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0
611399). Bibcode:2006Sci...314.1757B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006Sci...314.17
57B). doi:10.1126/science.1133734 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1133734).
PMID 17170299 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17170299). S2CID 7295726 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:7295726).
30. Konig, M.; Wiedmann, S.; Brune, C.; Roth, A.; Buhmann, H.; Molenkamp, L. W.; Qi, X.-L.;
Zhang, S.-C. (2007). "Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells". Science.
318 (5851): 766–770. arXiv:0710.0582 (https://arxiv.org/abs/0710.0582).
Bibcode:2007Sci...318..766K (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007Sci...318..766K).
doi:10.1126/science.1148047 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1148047).
PMID 17885096 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17885096). S2CID 8836690 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:8836690).
31. Zhang, Shou-Cheng; Fang, Zhong; Dai, Xi; Qi, Xiao-Liang; Liu, Chao-Xing; Zhang, Haijun
(June 2009). "Topological insulators in Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 with a single Dirac cone
on the surface". Nature Physics. 5 (6): 438–442. Bibcode:2009NatPh...5..438Z (https://ui.ad
sabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009NatPh...5..438Z). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.475.1975 (https://citeseerx.is
t.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.475.1975). doi:10.1038/nphys1270 (https://doi.org/
10.1038%2Fnphys1270).
32. Qi, X. L.; Zhang, S. C. (2011). "Topological insulators and superconductors". Reviews of
Modern Physics. 83 (4): 1057–1110. arXiv:1008.2026 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1008.2026).
Bibcode:2011RvMP...83.1057Q (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011RvMP...83.1057Q).
doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.83.1057 (https://doi.org/10.1103%2FRevModPhys.83.1057).
S2CID 118373714 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:118373714).

External links
Former Stanford profile page of Shoucheng Zhang (via Archive.org) (https://web.archive.org/
web/20181201171252/https://profiles.stanford.edu/shoucheng-zhang)
 Former Stanford web page of S.C.Zhang Group (via Archive.org) (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20181109084538/http://so5.stanford.edu/)
Shoucheng Zhang: "Quantum Computing, AI and Blockchain: The Future of IT" (https://ww
w.youtube.com/watch?v=MozDSajpLTY) on YouTube

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