On December 10, MIT Technology Review announced its regional list of the top 35 innovators under the age of 35 in China—the TR35 China at EmTech China. SUSTech Shenzhen Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering Associate Researcher Yu HE and Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering Assistant Professor Ji LIU were among the list.

Yu HE has made a series of pioneering achievements in quantum computation and quantum networks. He manipulates single atoms, electrons, and photons with cutting-edge quantum technology, and constructs a future quantum information technology platform in the micro-world. He used the scanning tunneling microscope lithography technology to fabricate nanoscale atomic quantum chips, which can be used to engineer single atom, single-electron quantum devices, and artificial quantum materials and can also realize single-atom scale quantum computing, laying a solid foundation for large-scale and scalable silicon-based quantum computing. He creatively implemented the first high-speed two-qubit gate on a silicon-based quantum chip, the 800 picosecond square root SWAP gate. Yu HE and his research team, for the first time, realized the quantum computer’s surpassing the first electronic tube computer ENIAC and the first transistor computer TRADIC.

Ji LIU creatively proposed the design rationales for the extreme mechanics of soft materials, and reported the successful construction of artificial biomaterials and interfaces with unprecedented fatigue-resistance for the first time, and solved the grand challenge in designing and manufacturing soft materials aimed for human technology. The fatigue-resistant hydrogel developed by Prof. LIU can be further designed as edible hydrogel electronics. Its excellent fatigue resistance, chemical, and mechanical stability enable the hydrogel electronics to resist long-term mechanical peristalsis of gastric cavity and chemical corrosion of gastric acid, thus achieve on-line monitoring of key physiological signals. The introduction of fatigue-resistant hydrogel coating can effectively reduce the friction coefficient and wear coefficient of the metal substrate, and also provide the possibility for hydrogels to be used as artificial cartilages.

The Innovators Under 35 is a peer-reviewed annual award and listicle published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35. It has been widely recognized by the industry, academia, and technology R & D personnel of start-up companies. In 2017, the list was launched in China for the first time, aiming to explore emerging forces in China’s science and technology development and affirm their innovative work in the field of technology.