Two HKU Physicists Elected Fellows of the American Physical Society

Professor Giulio Chiribella and Professor Shizhong Zhang from The University of Hong Kong have been elected 2026 Fellows of the American Physical Society (APS), one of the most selective honours in physics.

Professor Giulio Chiribella, Director of the Quantum Information and Computation Initiative (QICI) at HKU's School of Computing and Data Science, was elected for his pioneering work in information-theoretic reconstructions of the quantum formalism and seminal contributions to the theory of quantum-induced indefinite causal order. His research spans quantum information theory, quantum foundations, quantum computation, and quantum AI, and he has contributed to new theoretical frameworks for understanding quantum information processing and quantum technologies.

“I am deeply honoured to join the community of APS Fellows”, Professor Chiribella said in a statement. “This recognition is a tribute to a long-term engagement in fundamental research, and is especially meaningful to see works on causality and the information-theoretic foundations of quantum mechanics acknowledged at this level.”

Professor Shizhong Zhang, Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Physics in the Faculty of Science, was nominated by the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics for his fundamental discoveries in revealing the universal behaviour of strongly interacting quantum systems. His pioneering theoretical work on p-wave interactions, the foundations of spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, and the transport properties of dilute Fermi gases has significantly advanced understanding of how quantum particles interact and behave collectively.

“I’m delighted that my work has been recognised by my peers, especially since much of it was inspired by theirs,” Professor Zhang said. “I’ve been fortunate in the colleagues I've collaborated with and learned from, and in the steady support of HKU. For me, this honour is both deeply gratifying and a reminder to keep pushing forward, because so many interesting questions remain open.”

No more than 0.5% of the Society’s non-student membership is elected annually through a rigorous peer-review process.