Renowned infrared physicist and Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Chu Junhao has donated his entire 3 million yuan ($420,000) science award prize to establish a specialized innovation fund in Shanghai, anchoring a broader regional effort to accelerate the commercialization of deep-tech research.
The donation, sourced from Chu’s 2025 Shanghai Science and Technology Award, will fund the "Chu Junhao Infrared Optoelectronics Technology Innovation Special Fund" under the Shanghai Science and Technology Development Foundation. Announced Saturday during the opening of a national postdoctoral academic exchange in Shanghai's Hongkou District, the fund will provide "Explorer" and "Scholar" grants to graduate students and early-career researchers working on core technical bottlenecks in infrared physics and optical sensing.
The fund's launch coincided with the rollout of the "Einstein Probe Talent Special Project," an initiative led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics (SITP). Major academic and aerospace organizations, including Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, and the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, have joined as founding partners to build a talent pipeline spanning fundamental research, component manufacturing, and system integration.
Headquartered in Hongkou District, SITP serves as an anchor for the municipality’s push to bridge academic research with industrial deployment. Local municipal authorities are positioning the district as a testing ground for emerging technologies, leveraging research institutes to incubate commercial ventures such as Shanghai Guoke Hangxing Quantum Technology Co. and Shanghai Guohongxin Technology Co.
Demonstrating the district's research-to-enterprise pipeline, Hongkou's postdoctoral innovation platform released 30 commercial research projects across green technology, artificial intelligence, new materials, and information technology. During Saturday's event, SITP postdoctoral researcher Niu Jiaqi officially took on a project sponsored by Shanghai Guohongxin Technology focusing on polarization superlattice infrared focal planes based on artificial micro-nano structures.
Municipal officials noted that the district will host 32 talent and industrial integration events through the end of the year, including project roadshows and policy exchanges, to support young researchers and strengthen regional technology clusters.
