Debate star and physicist Guo Yanliang leaves a top European quantum lab for China

Guo Yanliang, a debater and physicist, is moving from a renowned European quantum lab to set up his own research group in Beijing. The 33-year-old sees scientific research as a debate between differing viewpoints, which he finds more compatible with China than Europe. This year, Guo returned to China, accepting a position as an associate professor at Renmin University of China.

He is currently constructing a platform for ultracold atom experiments. Despite having published papers in Science and Nature and being recognized by MIT Technology Review's "Innovators Under 35 China" list, Guo cites China's better support for his long-term research goals as his reason for returning. In his future research, Guo plans to utilize lasers to cool atoms to near absolute zero and explore quantum matter that classical computers cannot simulate.

Guo's academic journey began in France after being admitted to Wuhan University's physics department in 2011 and participating in the Wuhan University + Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (2+2) bachelor's program. He obtained his master's degree from the University of Paris-Saclay in 2017 and his PhD from Sorbonne Paris Nord University in 2021.

During his time in France, Guo also won a Chinese-language debate competition and appeared on the online debate variety show Qipashuo. In 2021, he joined the University of Innsbruck in Austria as a postdoctoral researcher, where he focused on ultracold atomic low-dimensional quantum gases. In 2021, Guo discovered a quantum gas that does not heat up in simulations, a finding published in Science.

The same year, he analyzed the momentum distribution of a quantum gas with foreign particles introduced, publishing the results in Nature. These accomplishments have earned Guo academic recognition, including being promoted to senior postdoctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck and receiving the Quantum Science Austria discovery project award.

This year, he received funding under the Excellent Young Scientists (Overseas) programme and returned to Renmin University of China as an associate professor.