On the afternoon of June 8th, Sir Anthony J. Leggett, winner the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, visited Sichuan University, where he was appointed honorary professor of SCU. Leggett is a professor of physics and chief scientist at the Institute for Condensed Matter Theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. President Li Yanrong met with Professor Leggett at SCU’s Wangjiang Campus. Vice President Liang Bin, along with faculty and staff from relevant departments, attended the meeting.

President Li offered Professor Leggett a general introduction to Sichuan University, pointing out the importance of physics as a foudnational discipline to engineering courses at SCU; physics was introduced early on and has seen strong development over the past few decades. In the framework of SCU’s promotion as a world-class university, it has concentrated on further developing various sub-disciplines, including material physics. As Professor Leggett is among the world’s leading scientists in quantum mechanics, President Li hopes he might offer his unique contributions to developing this field at Sichuan University by recommending talented early-career scholars to promote the construction of quantum mechanics and related fields at SCU.

Professor Leggett was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003 for his orignial work on superfluidity. He is a member of the American Academy of Sciences, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, overseas fellow of the the Russian Academy of Sciences, and member of the Royal Society. He has also been appointed to the Order of the British Empire.

During their meeting, Leggett thanked President Li for the kind welcome at SCU and expressed appreciation for the honor of being appointed overseas professor. He stressed his willingness to contribute his own wisdom and knowledge, particularly in the area of quantum physics and related fields to promote the development of physics at SCU. He looks forward to many opportunities to interact and cooperate with SCU students and faculty.

Wrapping up their meeting, President Li, on behalf of the university, presented Sir Leggett with a letter appointing him honorary professor of SCU.

Later that afternoon, Professor Leggett gave a special lecture at the Wangjiang Campus on Bell’s Theorem, Entanglement, Qantum Telepartation and Related Research, which was open to all students and faculty. Professor Leggett’s half-hour lecture offered clear theoretical analysis and brilliant insights, while providing a basic introduction to quantum telepartation.

Leggett’s lecture was welcomed with great enthusiasm from the audience, who engaged in the Q and A session that followed with great interest.

During his stay, Professor Leggett gave another lecture at SCU’s Jiang’an Campus, this one entitled Testing Quantum Mechanics Towards the Level of Everyday Life. Here, Sir Leggett also met with students and faculty from the College of Polymer Science and Engineering and related departments at SCU and engaged in in-depth academic discussions and exchanges.