On the eve of National Day there was good news from the three innovation centers co-built by CAS and the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hefei. In Beijing, construction of an integrated experimental facility for extreme conditions began at Huairou Science City, a comprehensive national science center in Huairou district. In Shanghai, Zhangjiang Lab was officially unveiled. In Hefei, the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility passed testing, with technology and performance living up to international advanced standards.

Beijing: Construction of integrated experimental facility for extreme conditions begins

Construction of an integrated experimental facility for extreme conditions got underway at Huairou Science City in Beijing on Sept 28. The facility will be the world’s first integrated scientific research platform that generates extreme conditions including ultralow temperatures, ultrahigh pressures, high magnetic fields and ultrafast optical fields, as well as the first major national scientific infrastructure to be located at Huairou Science City.

Upon completion in about five years, the facility, co-built by the Institute of Physics of CAS and Jilin University, is expected to greatly improve China’s comprehensive capability in basic and applied research in physical science and related fields. It will also serve as a major international advanced science and technology research center.

Hefei: China's Steady High Magnetic Field Facility passes testing

China's Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF) passed testing by a national expert panel in Hefei, Anhui province on Sept 27. China is now the fifth country in the world to have an SHMFF.

Bitter disk with cooling holes. High drive current flows in a helical path through stacks of bitter disks to produce high magnetic field. (Image by Li Fukai)

The facility, jointly built by the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences of CAS and the University of Science and Technology of China, consists of ten magnetic devices with a high magnetic field, six types of experimental measurement systems, and experimental systems capable of generating ultralow temperatures and ultrahigh pressures. Key technological breakthroughs: the research team built the world's second 40-Tesla hybrid magnet, following the US; three water-cooled magnets set a new world record for magnetic fields; and the world’s first SMA, a world-leading scientific experiment system, was established.

Strong magnetic fields are crucial for manipulating the quantum state of materials, and therefore play an irreplaceable role in helping scientists discover new phenomena, unveil new mechanisms, explore new materials and develop new technology.

During its trial run from 2010 to the end of 2016, the facility created experimental conditions for more than 1,500 research programs of 106 institutional users, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, which led to many internationally influential research achievements. The facility boosted China’s explorations at the frontiers of many sciences including physics, materials, chemistry and life science under extreme conditions.

Shanghai: Zhangjiang Lab launched

CAS and the Shanghai municipal government held a launching ceremony for Zhangjiang Lab on Sept 26.

Han Zheng, Party secretary of Shanghai, and CAS President Bai Chunli jointly unveiled the lab, while Bai and Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong addressed the ceremony.

In its infancy, the lab will adopt a “one plus two plus one” scheme. The first “one” refers to large-scale scientific facilities for photon science and associated basic research. The “two” refers to the two major research disciplines of life science and information technology. The second “one” refers to the interdisciplinary field involving both life science and information technology -- brain-inspired intelligence technologies.

By 2020, Zhangjiang Lab will have about 2,000 staff members. It aims to bring together many top talents in photon science, life science and information technology from across the world, and make a series of breakthroughs. Moreover, it aspires to become a world-class national lab backed by the world’s largest and most varied science facilities with the strongest comprehensive capability for photonics research by 2030.