Congratulations to Prof Peter Edwards, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, on his election as a Distinguished Professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The honour was conferred in his inaugural lecture on 8 December 2025, hosted by Prof. Changqing Jin of the Institute of Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, who also nominated him for the award.
The announcement aligns with the 40th anniversary of Prof. Edwards’ 1985 paper with John Goodenough and Martin Harrison on oxide superconductivity. That work helped establish the modern understanding of the metal–insulator transition and its relevance to superconductivity, a theme that Prof Edwards revisited in his CAS lecture.
In his address, Prof Edwards discussed the continuing challenge of explaining and controlling high-temperature superconductivity, and highlighted the potential global benefits of future materials capable of superconducting at ambient temperatures (so-called Room Temperature Superconductors). Such advances have been noted for their potential to significantly reduce energy-transmission losses associated with national grids, and support large-scale decarbonisation.
