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![\"charles-kane-photo-courtesy-of-upenn-physics\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/b03285e8-ab24-4767-8be5-99b54c6b982d.sized-1000x1000.jpg\")
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Penn Physicist Charles Kane won the 2025 Lorentz Medal.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Photo Courtesy of UPenn Physics<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Physics professor Charles Kane was awarded the 2025 Lorentz Medal for his research in quantum physics on Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n The Lorentz Medal, awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, is the Netherlands’ highest honor in the field of theoretical physics. Kane was recognized for his research into topological insulators \u2014 quantum materials that conduct electricity on their surface \u2014 and will be formally recognized on Dec. 11 in Leiden, the Netherlands.\n\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an incredible honor,\u201d Kane wrote to Penn Today<\/a>. \u201cBeing recognized at this level reminds me of the many things I have to be grateful for. I thank my collaborators as well as the broader community of scientists who helped to make a new generation of electronic materials come to life.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Kane will be the 25th laureate since the award was first granted in 1925.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are truly honored to have Charlie as part of our community, having joined Penn as an assistant professor and spent his entire career here,\u201d School of Arts and Sciences dean Mark Trodden added in the Thursday announcement<\/a>. \u201cThe discovery of topological insulators is one of the greatest scientific advances of the past 25 years or more, with potential applications ranging from low power electronics to creating a topological quantum computer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Trodden also highlighted that Kane\u2019s research represents \u201cthe critical importance of the basic sciences and of the theoretical work that underlies so many pathbreaking real-world scientific advances.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n Kane’s exploration of topological insulators began in 2005, when he and fellow Penn physics professor Eugene Mele developed a theoretical model that predicted the quantum spin-Hall effect, a foundational framework in quantum physics. In 2007, Kane and his postdoctoral student Liang Fu \u2014 who is now a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology \u2014 confirmed that such materials conduct electricity.\n<\/p>\n In 2018, Mele and Kane were awarded<\/a> $3 million as part of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Kane’s many other laurels include the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award<\/a>, the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics<\/a>, the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Dirac Prize of the International Center for Theoretical Physics, the Oliver Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society, and Physics Frontiers Prize of the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation.\n<\/p>\n In 2014, he was also chosen as a Thomson Reuters Citation Laureate<\/a> for his work on unique properties of electrons and how they move through magnetic fields. Thomson Reuters analyzes citation rates of research articles in order to predict possible Nobel Prize winners, boasting more than 20 percent accuracy.<\/p>\n The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n