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Table of Contents The Year in Review 2014 Table of contents 1. Director’s Corner: A Year in Transition.........................................2 2. Chair's Perspective: Going Beyond Ourselves, Pursuing Excellence.....4 2. Featured Science: Mr. Chengyuan Li ...........................................7 3. Featured Science: Dr. Haibo Yuan................................................9 4. Featured Science: Prof. Gregory Herczeg...................................11 5. Featured Science: Prof. Fukun Liu..............................................13 6. Peking University astronomy in the news....................................15 7. Scientific advances: Colloquia and lunch talks.............................21 8. Peer-reviewed publications........................................................28 9. Awards.......................................................................................43 10.Grants and funding obtained.......................................................44 11.Peking University astronomers making headway in international organizations...52 12.Conference organization, invitations, and external colloquia........54 13.Student highlights ......................................................................62 14.Visitors.......................................................................................64 15.Miscellaneous noteworthy achievements....................................71 16.The PKU astronomy family.........................................................77 ASTRONOMY AT PEKING UNIVERSITY 1 The Year in Review 2014 Director’s Corner A Year in Transition I arrived in Beijing on the last day self-sacrifice. of a cold December. Excited, if a bit The Kavli Institute for Astronomy apprehensive, I left behind a warmer, and Astrophysics (KIAA) was established more familiar world to chase an ideal. in 2007 through the visionary leadership China today is a land of extraordinary and generosity of Peking University possibilities. Opportunities abound in all and the Kavli Foundation, as an institute sectors of society, including basic sciences committed to the pursuit of academic such as astronomy. We have always excellence. Within the landscape of had unparalleled human resources. Now Chinese astronomy, KIAA was and we are fortunate to also have financial continues to be a bold, new experiment. resources and a progressive government Thanks to the tireless efforts of my willing to invest in fundamental research. predecessors, KIAA already has come Entrusted with these resources, we have a long way and laid a solid foundation. an opportunity—indeed a responsibility— Looking ahead, where should we go from to use them well to do something useful here? What should we become? I truly for the future. This poses a tremendous believe that we have a very bright future. challenge for a nation of China’s We have the capacity to elevate KIAA into magnitude and complexity, not to mention an internationally competitive research its deep cultural roots. There are simply institute of the highest caliber. Beyond that, Luis C. Ho no blueprints for the infrastructure that during this time of historical transformation we must build, no roadmap for the road in China, we are uniquely positioned Director of Kavli Institute for we must travel. And, as exemplified by to use KIAA as a model for the greater Astronomy and Astrophysics my own journey from California to Beijing, astronomy community. To be sure, we will change never comes easily. It is natural strive for maximum scientific excellence to stick to the safe, familiar comforts of and productivity, but we must also aspire our past. Transition brings uncertainty, toward greater cooperation, camaraderie, uneasiness, even mild turbulence. And diversity, and internationalization. yet, change we must. To succeed, we Our instruments of governance, need to work hard, of course, but we also administration, and management must be need to experiment with new ways of efficient, transparent, rigorous, and fair. doing things, even at the expense of some We begin first by reaching in, to ensure 2 ASTRONOMY AT PEKING UNIVERSITY The Year in Review 2014 that KIAA is internally sound and strong; of establishing a Governing Board Astronomical Observatories, Shanghai we work closely with the Department of charged with oversight of the Institute’s Astronomical Observatory, the Institute Astronomy (DoA) to realize a unified, management. for High-Energy Physics and Yunnan cohesive astronomy force at Peking ■ We designed a new website that Astronomical Observatory) on a number University. Equally critically, we should is actively maintained with fresh content. of fronts. also reach out, across the network of ■ We recruited two strong new ■ We are establishing ties with domestic universities and research faculty members (Linhua Jiang and Yue other Kavli astrophysics institutes and institutes of the Chinese Academy Shen). their associated universities. of Sciences (CAS). The astronomy ■ We offered joint appointments ■ We are establishing ties with community in China is very small, and, to three additional DoA faculty members member institutes from the Thirty Meter for historical as well as administrative (Zuhui Fan, Fukun Liu, and Renxin Xu). Telescope consortium. reasons, it is further splintered in a most ■ We established the Kavli Visiting ■ We renovated guest rooms to unhealthy fashion along institutional Scholars program to bring in eminent create new offices; other remodeling barriers, rendering it less effective than scientists in research areas of most work is being planned. it could be. Finally, we turn our sights relevance to our science directions. globally, not only regionally across East ■ We created an intellectual Looking back, we have actually Asia, but ultimately beyond. environment that has been very had a very busy and productive year! We are far from fully realizing any attractive to a steady stream of visitors All of these “baby steps” need of these goals. However, during the past at all levels, from beginning students to be monitored vigilantly, nurtured year, I am pleased that we have taken to senior scientists, both domestic and continuously, and expanded judiciously. some small steps in the right direction: international. Although we still have a long way to go, ■ We consolidated a new ■ We maintain a vibrant set of I am more optimistic than ever that we administrative team, consisting of weekly academic activities, ranging from will get there. I give my heartfelt thanks Associate Director Wu Xue-Bing, formal colloquia to lunch seminars, pizza to my indispensable administrative Institute Manager Yao Jie, and and coffee science discussions. team, to all the students, postdocs administrative assistants Liu Lili and ■ We improved the intellectual and faculty at KIAA and DoA whose Zhang Shuo. We worked closely with the as well as social atmosphere with passion for science reminds me why all DoA to hire a new department secretary, the addition of daily afternoon coffee, of this is worthwhile, to my friends and Li Shuxian. Monday evening graduate student dinner colleagues throughout China for their ■ A large number of committees talks, and Friday afternoon Happy Hour encouragement, to Peking University have been formed to allow everyone organized by the postdocs and students. and the Kavli Foundation for their the opportunity to share in common ■ Overall, morale in the institute is steadfast support, and most importantly, responsibilities and decision-making. high. to my family for their sacrifice and for ■ We hold regular faculty ■ There has been a healthy understanding why I have embarked on meetings to facilitate communication and stream of science outputs, some in high- this journey. information dissemination. profile journals. ■ We reconstituted a new ■ It took some time to plan international Science Advisory scientific conferences and workshops, Committee, charged with guiding us on but eventually we made some progress. our scientific mission. ■ We are working closely with Luis C. Ho (Director, KIAA) ■ We initiated the process CAS institutes (including the National ASTRONOMY AT PEKING UNIVERSITY 3 The Year in Review 2014 Chair's Perspective Going Beyond Ourselves, Pursuing Excellence When I first returned to China and leadership of Peking University, which at began to work at Peking University, my the same time is trying to transform the aspiration was to become a scientist University into one of the world’s top similar to my mentors abroad, as well universities. Building on the astronomy as similar to my fellows from the same development plans initiated by the academic family, who have conducted previous department and institute pioneering, world-leading, or ground- directors, we continued to strive toward breaking research. I believe that it our goals in 2014. is possible to achieve these goals, provided that we can fully integrate 1. A Fraternal Relationship with the general rules underlying scientific the KIAA research with China’s culture, social Establishing fraternal solidarity and development, and the scientific and cooperation between the Department academic research activities undertaken of Astronomy and the KIAA is the and carried out in ways suitable for the prerequisite for the astronomy program situation pertaining to China and Peking at Peking University to develop University. smoothly. It is an essential requirement Following the transition of the both internationally and domestically, Fukun Liu administration of the Department of as well as for Peking University Chair of the
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