Physicist's team wins natl award for research on water

For more than two decades, Chinese physicist Wang Enge has devoted his career to studying one of the most common substances on Earth: water.

While most people take water for granted, Wang looks at it through an ultrapowerful atomic lens to understand the fundamental structure and behavior of water and ice.

"Over the years, many colleagues have asked me: what is there left to study about water? We drink it, swim in it, and skate on it every day," Wang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at Peking University's School of Physics, said in a recent interview. "Everything about it seems obvious."

Yet Wang remained focused on one main goal: uncovering the hidden physics of this everyday liquid.

That persistence has paid off. On July 8, a research team led by Wang won the first prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award for groundbreaking work on how subatomic particles shape hydrogen bonds and water dynamics.

Understanding water has long stumped the scientific world. In 2005, the journal Science listed "What is the structure of water?" among the 125 most critical scientific questions. In 2013, Nature highlighted unlocking the surface structure of ice as a top research priority.

At the atomic level, water molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds.

Because hydrogen atoms are extremely light, they behave according to the strange rules of quantum physics — meaning their subatomic parts fluctuate, blur, and even "tunnel" through energy barriers rather than staying in fixed positions.

Traditional scientific models often ignored these subatomic quantum movements, making it hard to predict how water actually behaves.

To overcome this, Wang and his team developed state-of-the-art experimental equipment and theoretical models to capture these tiny quantum movements in action. Through their novel approaches, the team made the world's first precise measurement of the strength of an individual hydrogen bond.

They also revealed how hydrogen atoms can coordinate with one another to jump across energy barriers simultaneously — a phenomenon known as concerted proton tunneling. By manipulating these subtle quantum effects, the researchers unlocked previously unknown states of matter and mapped out how clusters of water and dissolved ions move and diffuse.

These insights extend far beyond pure physics. Wang noted that controlling these quantum effects could pave the way for revolutionary quantum materials and ultraefficient energy technologies. The research is also expected to advance neighboring fields, including chemistry, life sciences and environmental science.

Looking back, Wang observed that studying subatomic quantum effects in water has transformed from a niche topic into a mainstream discipline.

"When it comes to physics research, there is no need to rush. Persistence is what matters," Wang said. "As long as your work is original, it will leave its mark in history."

Guo Yuhe contributed to the story.