Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
The Mozi Sky Survey Telescope is located at the site of the Saishiteng Mountain Observatory in Lenghu Town, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Xinhua News Agency
Young scientific and technological talents are the main force of scientific and technological innovation. Nowadays, there are more and more "young scientific researchers" who are taking the lead and shouldering heavy responsibilities in major scientific research, and contributing to high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance.
Recently, the winners of the 2023 DAMO Academy Young Fellow Award were officially announced, and 15 young scientists were commended, whose research achievements covered many key fields such as silicon-based optoelectronics, nanoelectronic devices, cell reprogramming, and embryonic development.
How are the "young scientific researchers" "refined"? Let's listen to what they have to say.
Do one thing well in your life
In the vast universe, there are often short, violent bursts of radio waves, usually lasting only a few milliseconds, that can release the equivalent of tens of billions of years of electricity generated on Earth. This millisecond wave, known as a fast radio burst, has long been a hot topic in astronomy and astrophysics.
The origin and mechanism of fast radio bursts is one of the biggest puzzles in literature today. Feng Yi, a researcher at Zhijiang Laboratory, pioneered the integration of "China Sky Eye" FAST and intelligent computing, providing key clues to uncover the origin of fast radio bursts and opening up a new path to the mysteries of the universe.
"The field of fast radio bursts is like a huge puzzle, it seems to be disorganized, but I will pick the most important pieces of the puzzle to tackle and find the most essential rules. Feng Yi said.
In March 2022, Feng Yi proposed for the first time a unified mechanism to explain the evolution of the polarization frequency of repeated fast radio bursts, revealing that there may be evolutionary stages of fast radio bursts. Subsequently, the team found that fast radio bursts may be in a binary star system, and the source of the explosion may be a massive star or even a black hole. This research result has been highly praised by astrophysicists at home and abroad.
"One of the characteristics of astronomy is that 'watching the sky eats', and it is 'the universe is experimenting for you'. I believe that if you keep working hard and think deeply, you will eventually find something. Feng Yi said.
On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau's Cold Lake Saishiten Mountain, Chen Xiaotian, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has worked for more than 400 days to find a world-class optical infrared observatory site in the eastern hemisphere.
"At Cold Lake, we're not just observing the universe, we're making history. Chen Xiaotian said.
Located in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, Lenghu Saishiten Mountain, with an altitude of 4,200 meters above sea level, and a radius of 100 kilometers is the deserted Gobi Desert. At the beginning of the monitoring and investigation, there was no way up the mountain, so we had to rely on manpower to carry the monitoring equipment. Today, there are roads, electricity and networks, and 12 astronomical telescope projects have been implemented, and 43 telescopes are expected to be built, of which 4 have been completed.
Over the years, Chen Xiaotian's team has also established the largest database of variable stars in China through research, and depicted an intuitive three-dimensional map of the Milky Way for the first time. His research found that the Milky Way is not a disk, but a bit like a potato chip.
"If you use three words to describe yourself, it is to sincerely love, explore the frontier, and persevere. "I only want to do one thing in my life, and that is astronomical research." ”
Make China's voice heard
In 1954, scientists developed the first generation of solar cells based on crystalline silicon, thus opening a new era of human use of solar energy. However, with the development of technology, the conversion efficiency of silicon cells has encountered a bottleneck. At this time, perovskite solar cells stepped onto the scientific stage.
Wang Rui, a researcher at the School of Engineering at Westlake University, is engaged in the design and development of new photovoltaic materials such as perovskite solar cells and organic solar cells. In Wang Rui's view, ion migration within perovskites is a double-edged sword, and the academic community's estimation of the upper limit of its conversion efficiency is much higher than that of crystalline silicon cells, but overcoming the instability of perovskite materials has become a difficulty in research.
Among theophylline and theobromine, two common ingredients in everyday beverages, Wang Rui found a way to repair perovskite surface defects. With the blessing of theophylline, perovskite cells have set a new record of 500 hours of continuous operation.
"Up to now, the conversion efficiency of perovskite cells has increased to about 26%, and the service life has increased to nearly 10,000 hours. Wang Rui said. His research not only improves the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells, but also opens up a new situation for the design and development of new photovoltaic materials.
The sun is a reservoir of energy, and the tranquil ocean is pregnant with the mysteries of climate change. Since 2011, Cheng Lijing, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has innovated and developed a number of core technologies for marine data processing in response to the key bottlenecks of basic marine data, and independently constructed a set of marine observation grid data widely used at home and abroad, based on which he has accurately estimated the physical changes in the core of the ocean such as temperature, salinity, and stratification, providing key scientific evidence for climate change and scientific support for China's climate change policy and environmental diplomacy.
"There is an international mechanism and governance system for climate change. We need to have some voices in these organizations, and young scientists should be more actively involved in these organizations, play an important role, and make China's voice heard. Cheng Lijing said.
Use science and technology to benefit society
"There are many key moments in my life that have been supported by female elders, and that made me want to do something for this group as well. Su Jun, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences, described the starting point of his scientific research journey.
As a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences, Su Jun aims at the current social hot issues and deeply cultivates the research pain points in the industry. In recent years, Su Jun has paid close attention to women's health, focusing on abnormal oocyte growth and early embryonic development for a long time, and is committed to solving fertility problems such as female infertility and reducing the physical and mental pain caused by women's experience of IVF, miscarriage, birth defects, etc.
"I hope I can go further than everyone else. Su Jun said that he looks forward to achieving greater breakthroughs in scientific research and practice to further help the healthy development of female reproductive health.
Liu Xiaodong, a researcher at the School of Life Sciences of Westlake University, changed the original fate of cells through human intervention and achieved "upgrading" in cell reprogramming, and his research results are of great significance for the treatment of age-related and neurological diseases.
"My job is to use cell reprogramming technology to be a rewriter of cell fate. Liu Xiaodong said. Recently, his team has constructed for the first time in skin cell reprogramming an embryonic structure similar to the fifth day of human development, which can not only better study human early embryonic development, but also has great application value in the fields of human reproductive technology optimization and organoid drug screening.
"I want to go to some remote places and train more scientific and technological talents." In addition to changing the fate of cells, Liu Xiaodong hopes to light up the hope of more people and guide their lives.
Some scientists use theories to open up boundaries for humanity, while others make tools for the benefit of society. Yang Zongyin, a researcher at the Hundred Talents Program of the School of Information and Electronic Engineering of Zhejiang University, has developed the world's smallest spectrometer, replacing traditional large components with semiconductor nanomaterials, and reducing the size to one-thousandth of the traditional spectrometer. The spectrometer can be used for single-cell hyperspectral imaging, spectral monitoring and screening, and can also be used to extend the working wavelength band from visible to mid-infrared through material replacement, opening up more applications such as blood glucose detection.
"The research you do is either on the shelves or in textbooks. If you can do both, your life will be truly complete. Liu Xiaodong said that he hopes that the technology of spectrometers will continue to be promoted and truly help people with diabetes and other groups. (Liu Yao, Liu Jialin)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (2024-01-11 Edition 09)
