Top Singapore-based physicist moves to China after superconductor breakthrough

Prominent young professor becomes doctoral supervisor at leading Chinese research university amid high-level recruitment drive

Stephen Lin Er Chow, a physicist who designed a groundbreaking copper-free superconducting oxide capable of high-temperature superconductivity, has joined Zhejiang University from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Last year, at 27, Chow published the findings in the journal Nature, marking the first top-tier publication for the NUS lab since its establishment two decades ago.

Confirming that he had joined Zhejiang University full-time, Chow said: “I really like Hangzhou’s living environment [and] the scenery around West Lake.”

He also pointed to his connections to China, noting that his grandfather was of Chinese descent and his wife is Chinese.

At NUS in 2022, Chow became the youngest recipient of the Best Graduate Researcher Award during his PhD studies. Immediately after graduation at 26 years old, he was offered a position at the university as a research fellow.

He arrived in China through Zhejiang University’s “100 Young Professors” programme and is a principal investigator at the elite research university.