Zong Qiugang

Professor Zong Qiugang obtained his Bachelor's degree in Physics from Sichuan University in 1986. In the same year, he became an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Space Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (now the National Space Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences). In September 1989, he joined the Chinese Antarctic Expedition Team. He studied in Germany in 1994 and obtained his Ph.D. degree from Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research/Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany in January 1999. He has worked at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Space Physics Center at Boston University, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University. He has made outstanding contributions in the field of space science and space exploration, publishing over 300 SCI papers and receiving more than 12,000 citations, as well as holding 28 domestic and international patents.

Under Professor Zong's leadership, his team developed a new generation of energy neutral atom imaging instruments with ultra-high spatial and temporal resolution. They also successfully developed an array energy electron detector with international leading level. The instruments developed have been installed on 11 satellites, including the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Fengyun satellites, and the Macau Science Satellite "MacaoSAT-1." These instruments have achieved on-site measurements of the dynamic variations of the "killer electrons" in the Earth's radiation belts. By utilizing autonomous data, a predictive model for "killer electrons" has been developed and incorporated into the standard forecasting model of the National Space Weather Forecast Center.

Professor Zong's innovative achievements have been widely recognized in the international academic community. He has received the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, the 2020 Hannes Alfvén Medal from the European Geosciences Union (the first Asian scholar to receive this award), the Outstanding Scientist Award from the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (the first Asian scholar to receive this award in 2021), and the Vikram A. Sarabhai Gold Medal from the International Astronautical Federation in 2018, among others. He has served as the Chair of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences section of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) and is currently the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor, or Editorial Board member of six international journals, including JGR-Space Physics published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).