We will leverage the role of major science and technology infrastructure to bring benefits to mankind

Major scientific and technological infrastructure has become a "reservoir" for training and absorbing outstanding scientific and technological talents.

Independently developed by the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Modern Physics), the first domestic special device for heavy ion treatment of cancer has been installed and operated in Wuwei City, Gansu Province, since 2018, more than 20,000 tumor patients have been consulted, and more than 570 patients have completed heavy ion treatment, with significant efficacy and good tolerance.

Today, with the rapid development of science and technology, major scientific and technological infrastructure similar to heavy ion accelerators has become a strategic highland that the world's scientific and technological powers will fight for. Relying on major scientific and technological infrastructure, China has promoted the progress of basic research and applied research, and become the main platform for solving major strategic scientific and technological problems. Such as positron collider, Shanghai Light source, full superconducting Tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device, spallation neutron source, "China Sky Eye" radio telescope, etc., has produced a number of major achievements, cracked a number of "jam neck" scientific and technological problems, playing an important role in China's journey to build a scientific and technological power.

In an interview with "Outlook" news weekly, Zhao Hongwei, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Party secretary of the Modern Physics Institute, deputy director of the Lanzhou Heavy Ion Accelerator National Laboratory, said that the initial intention of science and technology is to benefit mankind. For more than 60 years, the Institute of Modern Physics has always relied on major scientific and technological infrastructure to continuously explore the unknown world, discover the laws of nature, lead scientific and technological changes, and benefit human health.

"Attaching importance to the engine role of the" national instrument ", continuously promoting and improving the important role of the major scientific and technological infrastructure in scientific and technological innovation, so that scientific and technological innovation can better benefit mankind is the direction of modern physics." Zhao Hongwei told "Outlook" news weekly reporter.

The "national instrument" leads the technological change

Outlook: Why build major science and technology infrastructure?

Zhao Hongwei: Major scientific and technological infrastructure plays an irreplaceable role in exploring the laws of nature and the basic structure of matter, promoting technological change, discovering new knowledge, and inventing new technologies. It is a large and complex scientific research system that provides extreme research means. It can transform cutting-edge scientific theories into practical scientific and technological achievements, and solve major issues concerning national security and social development. Therefore, it is also a strategic highland that the world's scientific and technological powers will fight for. Almost all the world powers such as the United States, Germany, and Japan have laid out and built a large number of major scientific and technological infrastructure, which is still under construction, covering many fields from physical structure, energy, information, materials, astronomy and space, earth and environment to oceans, life and health, agriculture and national security.

The fundamental purpose of building and running large scientific installations is to discover the laws of nature and generate new knowledge, which may seem useless for the time being, but which will be used in the future and produce a host of new technologies and other "by-products." History has proved that the results derived from many large accelerators are closely linked to the core technologies of various industries in the country. Major science and technology infrastructure can also help us solve many specific problems in economic and social development. For example, the Earth system numerical simulation device can not only accurately predict the weather situation, but also provide data support for us to deal with the major global issue of energy conservation and emission reduction.

Outlook: What are the characteristics of China's major scientific and technological infrastructure?

Zhao Hongwei: China's major science and technology infrastructure construction started from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The key layout of the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" to "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, this period is also the "blowout period" of China's major scientific and technological infrastructure construction. Up to now, China has about 40 major scientific and technological infrastructure in operation.

The proposal, construction, operation and maintenance of major scientific and technological infrastructure requires a large team to guarantee, and involves a wide range of professional directions. Take Lanzhou National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator as an example. It is a laboratory focusing on the application of heavy ion physics and related technologies, involving nuclear physics, atomic physics, materials science, life science, advanced nuclear energy, ion accelerator, automatic control, microelectronics, detector, magnet, vacuum, power supply, machinery, radio frequency and microwave, liquid helium cryogenics, etc., which is very comprehensive. The operation efficiency is also high. In addition to the annual shutdown from the end of July to August for maintenance, the Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator runs for about 7,500 hours 24 hours a day, 11 months a year. Overall, most of China's major science and technology infrastructure runs for 5,000 to 7,000 hours per year, and the efficiency is relatively high.

China's major scientific and technological infrastructure from the past to the present overall level in the international advanced ranks, the achievements are obvious. For example, the Lanzhou Heavy Ion Accelerator National Laboratory is at the leading level in the world in the accurate measurement of short-lived atomic nuclei, the generation of high-current and high-charge ion beams, and the high-current proton superconducting linear accelerator. In response to the national demand, our laboratory has also undertaken a large number of detection experiments on the reinforcement of single-particle effect anti-irradiation devices. Before the important domestic aerospace devices "go to the sky", they must complete the detection on the ground in the laboratory.

The "national treasure" returns to society

Outlook: How does major scientific and technological infrastructure promote scientific and technological innovation?

Zhao Hongwei: Most of China's scientific and technological achievements are related to major scientific and technological infrastructure, and this is also true worldwide. China's major science and technology infrastructure has made a large number of achievements and remarkable achievements in breaking through the frontiers of science and discipline development, breaking through and cultivating key core technologies, spawning new and high technologies, opening up new cross-cutting fields, and solving the sustainable development of the national economy and society. Worldwide, about 40% of Nobel laureates rely on major scientific and technological infrastructure for their achievements. Therefore, major scientific and technological infrastructure plays a very important role in scientific and technological innovation.

For example, in the field of cutting-edge basic research, relying on the Lanzhou Heavy ion Accelerator scientific Facility, the Institute of Modern Physics has synthesized more than 30 new nuclides for the first time in the world, and accurately measured the mass of 26 kinds of short-lived nuclei for the first time. Based on the ion accelerator science facility and nuclear physics research, an accelerator-driven advanced nuclear fission energy system is proposed to solve the long-term sustainable supply of nuclear fuel, the full utilization of uranium resources and the safe and harmless disposal of spent fuel. In terms of people's health, relying on this major scientific device, after more than 20 years of continuous efforts, we have developed advanced heavy ion therapy tumor technology with independent intellectual property rights, and developed a special heavy ion accelerator device for the treatment of solid tumors, which has been industrialized and promoted.

Major science and technology infrastructure is also an extremely important platform for gathering high-end talents, training talents, demonstrating the image of a major country, promoting international cooperation and exchanges, and carrying out science and core technology exchanges. For example, the modern Institute of Physics has established close cooperative relations with more than 50 research institutions and universities in the United States and Europe, produced very important scientific and technological achievements, and trained a group of scientific research talents for our use. During the construction of Lanzhou heavy ion cooling storage ring project, the role of international cooperation was fully played, and a number of foreign experts participated in the construction. These rare experiences have cultivated and created a group of high-end scientific and technological talents, young scientific and technological talents and high-level innovation teams with international level and vision. It can be said that major scientific and technological infrastructure has become a "reservoir" for cultivating and absorbing outstanding scientific and technological talents.

The Institute of Modern Physics is a base-based institute that relies on major scientific and technological infrastructure to carry out research on advanced nuclear energy systems driven by heavy ion science and technology and accelerators. For more than 60 years, the Institute has been conducting research on nuclear physics, atomic physics, radiobiology, heavy ion driven high energy density physics, material irradiation and technology, accelerator-driven advanced nuclear fission energy, ion beam-based nuclear technology related applications, and particle accelerator large scientific facilities. It has led the development of China's heavy ion science and technology, accelerator driven nuclear energy technology, and achieved a number of major basic research achievements represented by the synthesis of new nuclides and accurate measurement of nuclear mass; A series of key technological breakthroughs have been made in the fields of superconducting ion source and continuous-wave high-current proton superconducting linear accelerator. A number of heavy ion irradiation technologies such as heavy ion treatment of cancer and irradiation mutagenesis breeding have been transformed, and the localization of special equipment for heavy ion tumor treatment of large medical equipment has been realized. As of July 2022, as the first unit and participating unit, a total of 186 achievements of the Institute of Modern Physics have won provincial and ministerial level awards, including 20 national awards.

Outlook: What are some representative cases of major scientific and technological infrastructure benefiting mankind?

Zhao Hongwei: There are many such cases. For example, in 1975, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the United States took the lead in the study of heavy ion therapy for cancer with its existing scientific accelerator facility. In the 1990s, Germany and Japan successively carried out heavy ion therapy tumor technology and clinical research, and gradually promoted the application. At present, heavy ion therapy has become the forefront and hot spot in the field of global radiotherapy. There are more than 10 medical heavy ion accelerators in operation internationally, mainly in Asia and Europe. About 30,000 cancer patients have been treated globally.

Since 1993, the Institute of Modern Physics began the basic research of heavy ion treatment of cancer technology, and has realized the integration, demonstration and industrialization of ion beam irradiation of cells, animal experiments, core technology research, pre-clinical trials of cases, and special devices for treatment. In 2018, the Modern Physics Institute independently developed and put into production, and installed the first domestic heavy ion treatment tumor special device, making China the fourth country in the world to achieve heavy ion treatment tumor after Japan, Germany and the United States.

In October 2019, China's first carbon ion therapy system with independent intellectual property rights developed by Modern Physics Institute and its participating company Lanzhou Kejintaji New Technology Co., LTD., was approved for listing. This domestic carbon ion treatment system approved and registered by the State Drug Administration has broken through the patent barriers of foreign products, improved the cost performance, reduced the operation and maintenance costs, achieved the breakthrough of domestic heavy ion treatment equipment, and made China's high-end medical equipment localization take a new step.

At the same time, the industrialization and clinical application of the system will also drive the ion medical industry that integrates precision cancer treatment, high-end equipment manufacturing and operation and maintenance services, promote the technical level of upstream and downstream enterprises, achieve the transformation of low-end manufacturing to high-end manufacturing, and make the "national weight" benefit society. It can be said that major scientific and technological infrastructure has effectively served society and promoted economic and social development in terms of basic research and industrial application.

Efforts are still needed to build a global innovation plateau

Outlook: How to better promote the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure?

Zhao Hongwei: It can attract enterprises to participate in the construction of major national scientific and technological infrastructure. For example, some enterprises in developed countries cooperate with national laboratories, and the ownership of large-scale equipment is controlled by the laboratory, and the enterprise has the right to use it. China can also learn from such practices to attract private enterprises to participate. The relevant departments can set up a part of the fund to support enterprises to purchase special instruments and equipment around the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure and participate in the construction of facilities.

At the same time, the state can encourage local governments to invest in the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure. In the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure projects, fully demonstrated, clear goals, starting from the needs of the country. Take full account of team foundation and experience, emphasize advancement and necessity.

Outlook: To build a global innovation highland, what are the new challenges we face?

Zhao Hongwei: The competition between the world's scientific and technological powers is about the national strategic scientific and technological strength. To build a scientific and technological power and a global innovation highland is the direction and goal we have been working hard. In the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure related to national strategic needs, basic scientific research and technological innovation, we must adhere to development with the resilience of "sharpening a sword in ten years".

At present, some technical indicators of China's major scientific and technological infrastructure are in the international leading position, some sub-systems, a certain direction or equipment performance are more leading, and relatively few are comprehensively leading and leading. For example, the sustainable development of nuclear energy and the mass production of medical isotopes still need to continue to promote. The transmutation of nuclear waste and the improvement of the utilization rate of uranium resources are important research directions for the sustainable development of advanced nuclear fission energy. These two issues are also difficult problems in the world at present, and major scientific and technological infrastructure needs to be built for exploration and research. In the medical isotope mass production technology for tumor diagnosis and treatment, the ion accelerator device can also play a key role to avoid the risk of "jamming", and China can plan the layout.