Title: When Atomic Manufacturing Meets Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials

Speaker: Professor Ji Wei

Time: Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 14:30

Venue: Lecture Hall 2, New Main Building Conference Center, Xueyuan Road Campus

Advised by: Beijing Association for Science and Technology

Hosted by: Science and Technology Association of Beihang University; Science Popularization Education Base of the Chinese Physical Society

Co-organized by: School of Physics, Beihang University

Abstract:

Since the establishment of quantum mechanics a century ago, humanity has discovered and understood a wide range of quantum phenomena in real materials. With the continuous advancement of surface microscopy techniques, we are now able to visualize low-dimensional quantum phenomena in real space and construct artificial quantum systems. Today, manufacturing technology has been advancing toward the ultimate microscopic frontier—atomic manufacturing. This emerging field aims to precisely manipulate atoms at the atomic scale and assemble them on demand, enabling the creation of new functional materials and devices, the ultimate aspiration of human manufacturing.

What sparks will fly when atomic manufacturing meets quantum materials? What new artificial structures can be realized through atomic manipulation, and what novel quantum effects might they exhibit? This talk will begin with a brief review of the establishment of quantum mechanics a century ago and its fundamental concepts, introduce several key quantum effects and phenomena, and then discuss recent progress in atomic manufacturing. The speaker will address our current capabilities in controlling atomic structures, creating new quantum materials, and building novel devices.

About the Speaker:

Ji Wei is a Wu Yuzhang Chair Professor at the School of Physics, Renmin University of China. He is a recipient of the inaugural Young Scholar and Distinguished Professor awards under the National High-Level Talent Program, and has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Excellent Young Scientists Fund. He has received prestigious teaching honors including the Beijing Young Teaching Master and Baosteel Excellent Teacher awards. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Chinese Researcher by Elsevier (2021–present) and a Global Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics (2023–present).

Professor Ji's research focuses on developing and applying first-principles computational methods combined with artificial intelligence to address fundamental scientific questions in future information functional materials and devices, as well as surface and interface challenges in atom-level manufacturing science and technology. He has authored over 250 publications in journals including Science, Science Advances, Nature Physics, Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Chemistry, Nature Communications, Physical Review Letters, and JACS, with over 19,000 citations (Web of Science). His research achievements have been featured on international postage stamps, selected among the "Top 10 Scientific Advances in China," and recognized with the Second Prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Award and the Second Prize of the Chinese Institute of Electronics Natural Science Award.

Professor Ji serves as a committee member of the Computational Materials Science Committee of the Chinese Materials Research Society and the Surface and Physical Chemistry Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society. He is on the editorial boards of Science Bulletin, Chinese Science Bulletin, Chinese Physics B, Acta Physica Sinica, 2D Materials, and Frontiers of Physics.

Editor: Lyu Xingyun