Composite photo taken on Dec. 9, 2016 shows a satellite-to-earth link established between quantum satellite "Micius" and the quantum teleportation experiment platform in Ali, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Dubbed "Father of Quantum" by some in China, Pan Jianwei and his team harnessed quantum laws to transmit information securely, called quantum communications. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A study on quantum communication made by Chinese scientists will receive the 2018 Newcomb Cleveland Prize as it laid the groundwork for ultra-secure communication networks of the future.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced Thursday that a team of 34 Chinese physicists led by Pan Jianwei with the University of Science and Technology of China had won the award that will be delivered on Feb. 14.

This is the first time that a Chinese team wins the prize with its home-grown research.

Pan and his Chinese colleagues used a satellite called Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) or Micius to send entangled photon pairs through the near-vacuum of space, measuring the quantum keys at receiving stations over 1,200 kilometers apart.

The research shows that a network of satellites could one day form the infrastructure of a quantum internet.