On November 17, 2025, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor at the University of Cambridge, and Professor at ETH Zurich, Didier Patrick Queloz, visited Fudan University. He delivered a lecture titled The Exoplanet Revolution and Its Implications for Life in the Universe at the 13th Pujiang Science Master Forum and engaged in discussions with representatives of teachers and students from Fudan University, other Shanghai universities, and secondary schools. Following the forum, Professor Queloz specially visited the Fudan University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Jiangwan Campus in the afternoon, where he held an in-depth round-table discussion with the center's faculty and students. Participants included teachers and students from the Department of Physics, as well as some faculty and students from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
After the successful morning forum, Professor Queloz continued his exchanges in the afternoon with experts, scholars, and young students from the Fudan University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He engaged in lively discussions with the attendees on topics such as exoplanet detection, cutting-edge issues in astrophysics, and career development for young scholars. Participants included faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students from the Department of Physics at Fudan University. The academic atmosphere was vibrant, and the event received an enthusiastic response. Students raised various questions concerning research directions and the exploration of inspiration, all of which Professor Queloz answered in detail one by one. He provided guidance for Fudan students, encouraging them to delve deeper into their explorations and maintain their passion.
Professor Didier Queloz is renowned for co-discovering the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star, 51 Pegasi b, with Michel Mayor in 1995, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019. His visit not only provided a valuable opportunity for faculty and students in astronomy at Fudan to engage in face-to-face exchanges with a top international scholar but also further enhanced Fudan University's international collaboration and influence in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
