On April 19, 2022, the Academic Committee of Zhejiang University announced the results of the "Top Ten Academic Progress of Zhejiang University in 2021". The team project, “Ice Single Crystal Micro-Nano Fiber", led by Prof. Tong Limin of COSE won the "Annual Outstanding Academic Contribution Award of Zhejiang University,2021".
In the process of exploring nano fibers, Prof. Tong's team, together with collaborators from the Interdisciplinary Mechanics Center, ZJU and the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully developed ice single-crystal nano fibers close to ideal quality after years of in-depth research. Like glass fiber, it can be bent flexibly and transmit light with low loss. Relevant research were published as a research article in Science on July 9, 2021. The research attracted wide attention from a range of well-known media, such as Xinhua News, CCTV Live, and The New York Times. It was successfully selected into “Top ten major breakthroughs in China's science and technology in 2021", hosted by Science Daily. This research not only expands people's cognitive boundaries of ice, but also inspires people to carry out research on ice-based optical fibers in optical transmission, optical sensing, ice physics, etc. It also has potential application value in other aspects, such as life science, space exploration, optical information science, etc.
The selection of "Top Ten Academic Progress of Zhejiang University in 2021" is sponsored by the Academic Committee of Zhejiang University. The final results involves active participation and support of teachers and students in ZJU, as well as all sectors of society. During the selection, on the basis of the previous selections of "Top Ten Academic Progress" and "Top Ten Academic Progress Nominations", in order to recognize and encourgage outstanding academic contributions, two additional "Annual Outstanding Academic Contribution Awards" are added. In addition, "Academic Innovation Award" is also added.