On August 26, 2024, the winners of the 6th “Science Exploration Award” were announced. Among the 49 outstanding young scientists recognized was Associate Professor Zheng Cai from Tsinghua University’s Department of Astronomy, who also leads the MUST project.

Cai joined Tsinghua in 2019. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2015, received the NASA Hubble Fellowship in 2016, and was selected for a national talent program in 2018.

His research focuses on high-redshift galaxies, intergalactic gas, and large-scale structures. He has built a major sample of giant gaseous nebulae and identified “recycling inflows” around high-redshift galaxies as a key driver of the formation and growth of massive galaxies. He also investigates the enrichment of heavy elements in the high-redshift intergalactic medium.

Cai’s achievements have earned him multiple honors, including the Tsinghua University Young Faculty Award (2021) and the “Excellent Mentor Award” (2022). His work has appeared in leading journals such as Science and Nature Astronomy, and was selected as one of Tsinghua’s Top 10 Research Highlights of 2023. He is currently spearheading the Wide-Field Survey Telescope (MUST) project.

Source: Tsinghua University Department of Astronomy Official WeChat