The Spring Academic Exchange Conference and the second meeting of the 12th Academic Committee of Institute of Physics (IOP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics was held on January 10-11, 2019, at IOP. A total of 107 members of the IOP Academic Committee from IOP and other academic institutions attended the event, including Chen Liquan, Chen Xianhui, Duan Wenhui, Gao Hongjun, Gong Changde, Gong Qihuang, Xie Sishen, Li Jiaming, Li Yadong, Liu Ming, Ouyang Zhongcan, Shen Baogen, Shen Xuechu, Sun Changpu, Wang Weihua, Wang Enge, Wang Guanghou, Xia Jianbai, Xiang Tao, Xie Xincheng, Xing Dingyu, Ye Chaohui, Yu Lu, Zhan Wenlong, Zhang Yuheng, Zhu Shining, and others. 20-plus guests from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, CAS headquarters, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission, the People's Government of Liyang Municipality, the People's Government of Dongguan Municipality, and other departments also attended the conference.

At the beginning, CAS Academician Wang Enge, Director of the IOP Academic Committee, delivered an opening speech. Later, Fang Zhong, Director of IOP, made the 2018 annual work report of IOP, focusing on its research progress, scientific commercialization, progress of "One Village and Three Lakes," technical support, international cooperation, science popularization, and outlook for 2019. The details of the report include: three achievements of IOP won the 2018 National Science and Technology Award; series of IOP achievements were included in the 40 landmark scientific achievements of CAS over the 40 years of reform and opening up; outstanding achievements were made such as "building of non-magnetic topological material database", "finding of Majorana bound state in iron-based superconductor", "roll-out of the first sodium-ion battery-powered low-speed electric vehicle", and other achievements in basic and applied basic research; the Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics was established and the first meeting of its Construction and Operation Management Committee and its Academic Committee was convened; remarkable progress was made in the construction of "One Village and Three Lakes"; new progress was made in international exchange and talent introduction, with the aim of building IOP into a world-class research base of condensed matter physics and leading the future construction of the national laboratory of physical sciences.

At the conference, Lyu Li, Li Hong and Wang Weihua gave reports on the construction and operation of the "One Facility & Two Centers" near Yanqi Lake in Huairou District, the Yangtze River Delta Physics Research Center near Tianmu Lake in Liyang City, and the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory in Dongguan respectively. Recommended by IOP, Gao Hongjun, Anders Sandvik, and Fang Chen gave reports with the titles "STM research in the Majorana bound state on the surface of iron-based superconductor", "Exploring novel quantum magnets with computer simulations", and "Classification and discrimination for the topological invariant in non-magnetic crystal material" respectively.

Twenty scientists recommended by different labs also reported their highlighted works in 2018. At the poster stand, posters featuring 20 outstanding students and 61 posters featuring research groups showcased the excellent scientific achievements made by IOP.

The year 2018 marked the 90th anniversary of IOP, as well the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Over the past decades, researchers of IOP have been committed to research and work and delivered a host of representative results. At the second plenary session of the 12th Academic Committee of IOP held on the morning of January 11, the committee members recognized the various achievements made by IOP in scientific research and the implementation of the "One Village and Three Lakes" strategy, and its adequate guarantee on research environment, center construction, talent training, and other aspects. Meanwhile, they expressed their expectation that IOP shall continue its efforts in deepening system and mechanism innovation to ensure that outstanding talents work at IOP with no worries, basic research and applied basic research shall be boosted through the "One Village and Three Lakes" strategy, and closer cooperation with home and abroad research teams shall be strengthened to advance the progress of physics and relevant disciplines. In his summary speech, CAS Academician Wang Enge, Director of the Academic Committee, said that correct positioning is highly crucial for the development of both IOP and researchers, and everyone should work hard to shape their distinctive features. In the end, Director Fang Zhong expressed his acknowledgements to all members, and said that IOP is a big family, where everyone is expected to work together with solidarity, be diligent in scientific research, bear due responsibility, and shoulder the historical mission bestowed to IOP by the country in the new era.