A century of innovative spirit and an optical scientist’s pursuit

Editorial Five score years ago, Mr. Po-ling Chang, founder of Nankai University in China, established its timeless motto: “ Dedication to Public Interests, Acquisition of All-Round Capability, and Aspiration for Progress with Each Passing Day .” Today, Gui-Geng Liu, an alumnus of the 2017 Physics Po-ling Program (named after the founder of Nankai University, Mr. Po-ling Chang), has made groundbreaking contributions to topological physics, including the realization of the first three-dimensional Chern insulator and the photonic axion insulator. He is currently an independent Principal Investigator (PI) and doctoral supervisor at the School of Engineering, Westlake University. He has published in top-tier international journals, including Nature 1 , Physical Review Letters 2 , and Science 3 . His research was recognized as one of the Top 10 Social Impact Events in China’s Optics in 2022. In this edition of “Light People”, I am pleased to feature Professor Gui-Geng Liu as he shares his personal journey and growth in the field.