On November 15, 2019, Russian Academy of Sciences, the highest academic institution of the Russian Federation, announced its selection of new foreign members. Prof. Xiantu He, honorary director of the Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, was elected for his achievements in the research on inertial confinement nuclear fusion and high energy density physics. Vladimir Fortov, former chairman of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has sent a letter to inform and congratulate Prof. Xiantu He.

      The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1724, developed into a national scientific organization after 1917, and renamed the Russian Academy of Sciences after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Academy of Sciences is the highest academic institution in the Russian Federation and is the center that leads the nation's basic research in the natural and social sciences. The Russian Academy of Sciences has a large scale and strong research capabilities, and has achieved many world-class results in basic research in the natural sciences, technical sciences, social sciences and humanities.

      Prof. He has made outstanding contributions to the research and development of national defense science and engineering in China. He has long undertaken major national tasks and engaged in specialized research on nuclear fusion and plasma physics, high-energy density physics and theoretical physics. A lot of pioneering work has been done in the research of physics theory, design and laboratory simulation of national major tasks. In addition, he has organized and participated in the research of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in China, put forward the development strategy of ICF in China, obtained a number of major achievements in physical science and technology, established an independent research system in China, and also laid an important foundation for the implementation of relevant strategic research plans in China.