Recently, the 2025 Autumn Academic Conference of the Chinese Physical Society (CPS) was held in Harbin, where the winners of the 27th Cai Shidong Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award in Plasma Physics were announced. Dr. Yang Dong from the Gas Discharge and Plasma Laboratory of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) received the award for his outstanding contributions to research on the similarity and plasma scaling theory of low-pressure capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharges. Academician Zhang Jie, President of the Chinese Physical Society and Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, presented the awards to the winners and their supervisors at the ceremony. He reviewed the history and development of the Cai Shidong Plasma Physics Award and encouraged young scholars to actively engage in research in the plasma field.

Scene of the 2025 CPS Autumn Academic Conference

Academician Zhang Jie presenting the certificate to the supervisor Associate Professor Fu Yangyang

During the conference, Associate Professor Fu Yangyang delivered the award-winning presentation titled “Study on the Similarity of Low-Pressure Capacitively Coupled Radio-Frequency Discharges,” as well as an invited talk titled “Application of Similarity Theory and Scaling Networks in RF Discharges.” Dr. Yang Dong was jointly supervised by Associate Professor Fu Yangyang and Professor Zou Xiaobing of the EEA. It is worth noting that he is the first doctoral graduate from the EEA to receive this prestigious honor.

Award certificates of Dr. Yang Dong, Associate Professor Fu Yangyang, and Professor Zou Xiaobing

The Cai Shidong Plasma Physics Award was established in 1998 under the Zhou Peiyuan Foundation in memory of Academician Cai Shidong for his outstanding contributions to plasma physics in China. The award aims to recognize and support young scholars who are patriotic, dedicated to plasma physics, and excel in both character and academics, thus promoting the advancement of plasma physics research in China and internationally. It is awarded annually to one to three recipients.

Dr. Yang Dong graduated from the EEA of Tsinghua University in 2025. During his doctoral studies, he achieved innovative results in the similarity and scaling theory of capacitively coupled RF discharges, which hold significant value for exploring the variation laws of plasma parameters across different scales of discharge systems. As the first author, Dr. Yang has published nine papers in top-tier journals such as Physical Review Letters, Applied Physics Letters, Plasma Sources Science and Technology (three papers), and Physics of Plasmas. He has also delivered multiple invited presentations at domestic and international academic conferences including IEEE ICOPS.

Dr. Yang Dong’s graduation photo