Abstract: The measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation is the pillar of modern precision cosmology. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of the experimental evolution of the cosmic microwave background radiation and highlight its phenomenal success and distinctive challenges. I will also discuss the current outstanding questions in modern cosmology and the prospects of the emergence of new physics.
Biography:
Professor Yin-Zhe Ma obtained his Bachelor's degree in Physics from Nanjing University, a master's degree from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (supervisor: Prof. Rong-Gen Cai), and a Ph.D. degree in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge (supervisor: Prof. George Efstathiou FRS). He conducted CITA National Fellowship at the University of British Columbia Canada and a research associate at the University of Manchester, and then moved to the University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa as a senior lecturer (2015) and then an associate professor (2018) and a full professor (2021). In 2023, he moved to Stellenbosch University as a full professor and the founding head of astrophysics division in physics department. He chairs the NAOC-UKZN Computational Astrophysics Centre and the Chinese-South African Forum of Astronomy. He was also an adjunct professor at Purple Mountain Observatory and National Astronomical Observatory China during 2017–2021, and 2025–now.
His research focuses on observational and theoretical cosmology aimed at understanding the fundamental laws of the Universe and uncovering the nature of dark energy and dark matter. He is currently a core member of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Science Working group, the Planck science team, Hydrogen Epoch Reionization Array (HERA), and the CMB Stage-4 experiment and LSST (Vera C. Rubin Observatory). With the Planck science team, he was awarded the 2018 “Gruber Cosmology Prize” by the IAU. He has published over 130 papers, with total citations exceeding 39,000, h-index 49. He was awarded the NSFC Oversea Scholar grant and several South Africa National Research Foundation grants. He was elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2022. He was awarded South Africa’s National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Research Award in 2025. He was elected to be the Vice President of African Astronomical Society (AfAS) for 2025–2027.