plays a fundamental role in condensed matter physics. Professor Kun Huang is known throughout the world for his many pioneering contributions to physics
in particular to the phonon physics
a branch closely related to the luminescence in solids. His book entitled "Lattice Dynamics in Crystal Lattice"(in collaboration with Nobel laureate M. Born)is the first comprehensive and compact presentation in this field on the basis of quantum mechanics
which
although published about half century ago
is still used as standard textbook until now. In his early articles on the interaction between radiation field and ionic crystals
he first proposed an important idea later known as "polariton"
which has changed our way of thinking about the propagating the EM Modes in crystalline media. His theory on multiphonon transition in semiconductors and insulators
the Huang-Rhys theory
which dealt with both the multiphonon optical and non-radiative transitions
laid the foundation of this important field. He pointed out the possibility of observing X-ray diffuse scattering in crystals due to impurities at first
later known as "Huang's diffuse scattering". In early 1950's
he formulated a pair of phenomenological equations relating the long-wavelength optical vibration to macroscopic electric field and polarization
which has been widely applied and named as Huang's Equation. As a 70 years old man
he and his collaborator resolved a puzzle about the optical phonon modes in semiconductor superlattices and worked out the "Huang-Zhu Model". In recognition of his lifetime achievements
Huang was recently honored with the Supreme Scientific and Technological Award in China. Huang's main scientific contributions and their significance are briefly reviewed in this paper.