Chinese scientist Wang Jinsong awarded prestigious William Nordberg Medal

Chinese space weather scientist Wang Jinsong has received the William Nordberg Medal, one of the world's top honors for the application of space science, becoming the first Chinese recipient since the award was established in 1988.

The award was presented on Monday at the 46th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research in Florence, Italy, recognizing Wang's contributions to space science applications and the development of space weather monitoring and forecasting. An asteroid was also named in his honor.

The Committee, an international scientific organization under the International Science Council, presents the William Nordberg Medal every two years to recognize outstanding achievements in space science applications.

Since 2022, two scientists have received the award during each presentation cycle. The other 2026 recipient is David Sibeck, chief heliophysics scientist at NASA.

Wang, director of China's National Satellite Meteorological Center and chief designer of the country's Fengyun meteorological satellite program, has led major development in the country's space weather capabilities.

He established the national operational space weather system and led the development of the country's first-generation numerical space weather forecasting system. His team also developed Fengyu, the world's first artificial intelligence model capable of full-chain space weather forecasting, combining AI with numerical prediction.

With Wang's efforts, researchers achieved breakthroughs in high-precision solar imaging, wide-field aurora observation, energetic particle detection and weak atmospheric glow sensing, while proposing new methods to simulate interactions throughout the Sun-Earth system.

He also introduced a new theoretical framework for evaluating satellite performance that has guided the planning, design and application of the Fengyun weather satellite series. His team developed technologies enabling coordinated observations by multiple satellites and real-time processing of massive volumes of satellite and ground-based data, allowing Fengyun satellites to provide intelligent weather services within minutes.

China has built an integrated space weather monitoring network combining the Fengyun satellite constellation with nearly 100 ground observation stations, providing comprehensive monitoring of the Sun, magnetosphere and ionosphere, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The system can observe 10 key space weather parameters and makes China the only country besides the United States with independent operational monitoring capabilities covering the entire Sun-Earth space environment, the administration said.

The technology has been widely applied to major Chinese space missions, including the Beidou navigation satellite system, the Chang'e lunar exploration program, the Tianwen Mars missions and the Kuafu solar observation project.

In addition, the country's next-generation operational forecasting platform, known as Fengyun Space Weather, is now in service, automatically detecting and classifying space weather events while providing forecasts ranging from immediate warnings to climate-scale outlooks.

"Going forward, we will continue improving space weather monitoring and forecasting services, as well as deepen innovation in space weather science and technology," Wang said.