Renowned Physicist Charles Kane to be honored with the 2025 Lorentz Medal from the Netherlands
Charles Kane, University of Pennsylvania Physicist, Wins 2025 Lorentz Medal
Charles Kane, a distinguished physicist at the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) of our website, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Lorentz Medal. This prestigious award, one of theoretical physics' highest honours, is bestowed every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Kane's groundbreaking work has significantly contributed to the field of condensed matter physics, particularly on topological insulators. This discovery, one of the greatest scientific advances of the past 25 years, has potential applications ranging from low power electronics to creating a topological quantum computer.
In 2005, Kane, along with longtime collaborator Eugene Mele, developed a theoretical framework predicting the quantum spin-Hall effect, a novel state of matter. This effect enables surface conduction without energy loss, a remarkable property with potential implications for the future of electronic materials.
Liang Fu, a doctoral student of Charles Kane, also played a significant role in predicting specific materials for three-dimensional topological insulators. These materials, predicted by Kane and Fu, conduct electrical flow on their surface while blocking it in their interior, a property that could host Majorana quasiparticles, exotic states potentially crucial for quantum computing.
Kane's deep commitment to education has also earned him the university's highest teaching awards. He has taught physics courses at various levels, including advanced graduate topics and introductory courses for freshmen. In 2014, he was awarded Penn's Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Beyond the Lorentz Medal, Kane has received multiple accolades, including the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Dirac Prize, the Oliver Buckley Prize, and the Physics Frontiers Prize.
Mark Trodden, dean of SAS and Thomas S. Gates Jr. Professor of Physics and Astronomy, expressed his honour to have Kane as part of the community. Kane will receive the Lorentz Medal on Dec. 11 in Leiden.
Kane expressed gratitude to his collaborators and the broader scientific community for their contributions to the development of a new generation of electronic materials. As he continues to push the boundaries of physics, the scientific community eagerly anticipates the future discoveries that Kane and his team will bring to the field.
