"At the age of 15, he was admitted to the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China, graduated with a doctorate at the age of 24, and became an associate professor of 985 University at the age of 26...... Recently, Chen Yilun, associate professor and master's tutor of the School of Atmospheric Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University, has become popular on the Internet. At only 28 years old, he led a group of students of the same age as him to explore the mysteries of the atmosphere, and his teaching philosophy and teacher-student relationship mode were praised by many netizens. As a "post-95 teacher", how does Chen Yilun achieve an "open" life? How to become a "mentor of other people"?
counterattacked from "weak learning", and his "skipping life" also had a trough
Chen Yilun's personal platform revealed his "skipping" trajectory - because he could multiply two-digit numbers orally at the age of 5, he was "phased" by the principal of the primary school to achieve kindergarten to primary school, and he was promoted to junior high school at the age of 10 after finishing the fifth grade. He went to university at the age of 15, studied for 9 years, and was hired as an associate professor at CUHK at the age of 26.
"Successful at a young age" and embarking on the road of scientific research is inseparable from the curiosity about everything since childhood. When he was 10 years old, he accidentally clicked on a mathematical software on his computer that could be used for scientific research and drawing, and found it novel and interesting. Curiosity sparked a series of explorations, allowing him to draw more beautiful and accurate images than his teachers in junior high school.
To this day, curiosity is a necessity for the fire of their research to keep burning. "I don't just do research to complete a project, it's more a curiosity about a problem that drives me to explore. If you lack curiosity, it's like a journeyman on an assembly line. ”
In high school, he was skilled and self-disciplined in his studies, and his grades were among the best in the school. With everyone's encouragement, he thought "faster" and applied for the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China. Although he was a "genius boy" in the eyes of outsiders, he joked that he "looked stupid and stupid at the time" - when he came to the junior class of USTC, he found that there were many people around him who were younger and stronger than himself, and he was only a "weak learner".
I was assigned to Class C in the English placement test, I failed the first level 6 test, and I scored 60 or 70 points in many subjects...... Losing again and again added to his frustration, and he began to sink into the game, seeking a sense of identity that he couldn't get from learning. It wasn't until the end of his sophomore year that he suddenly realized that something was wrong: "Do you have to survive by playing games in the future? I'm not as good as a professional player, and this track can't be mixed." He put his focus back on his studies and his grades rose in his junior year.
Nowadays, in the eyes of outsiders, he is "young and ambitious", but he said, "There are too many people who are younger than me but more outstanding! There is still a long way to go in life, and fast now does not mean that it will always be fast. Everyone has their own track, there is no need to compare fast and slow gains and losses, it is better to calm down and focus on the direction. ”
The self-proclaimed "pole-raising artist" pursues to make weather forecasts more accurate
"I, a little green pepper (young teacher), was woken up by the alarm clock early in the morning, got on the school bus alone, left Zhuhai, and went to Guangzhou to hand in the project declaration...... I carried a heavy backpack on my back and walked step by step to the research institute. In an instant, the bag was empty. Chen Yilun disclosed in his diary a fragment of heavy scientific research work.
"Atmospheric science" is his track, he feels that "this major is not too cold", and it is a subject that "can be seen and touched", and he has dreamed of becoming a scientist in the field of earth sciences since he was a child. Chen Yilun believes that "atmospheric science not only includes the study of weather and climate, but also mathematics, physics, chemistry, environment and other knowledge, and combines some advanced technologies. ”
When he was in college, he learned that earth science is subdivided into many disciplines, among which atmospheric physics is the closest to daily life, so he chose to delve deeper into this direction, and gradually positioned himself in "satellite remote sensing clouds and precipitation". He told reporters, "The use of satellites can be more timely and accurate observation of weather phenomena, and my scientific research goal is to use multi-source satellite observation data to understand the precipitation process in South China more clearly, and establish corresponding forecasting models to forecast all kinds of precipitation more accurately." ”
To this end, he spends a lot of time researching literature, thinking, programming, organizing documents, etc., and leading graduate students to do research. Although he has been in the industry for nearly ten years, he has published more than 20 articles in well-known journals as the first author or corresponding author, and has won honors such as the President Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangdong Meteorological Science and Technology Outstanding Youth Award, he still describes himself as still in the initial stage.
"Using China's own satellites to do your own thing" is the ideal in his heart, and it is also a sentence he often mentions to his students, and he teaches them to have scientific research ability and patriotic feelings. Liu Tianao, a PhD student co-led by Professor Chen Yilun and Professor Lai Weibiao, said: "Whenever we mention meteorological satellites launched by the mainland, he always proudly introduces us to the characteristics, advantages and applications of the satellites. ”
Chen Yilun also shared his professional insights and scientific research results on his personal platform, and released a "recruitment post" to encourage more people to study atmospheric science. He also has an interesting online name - "National First-class Bar-Raising Performance Artist", "Scientific research itself is a process of 'raising the bar', and there will be a lot of opposition voices in the middle, and you need to continue to explore and challenge existing knowledge, and explain or revise your own views".
Miscellaneous work is not allowed to be done by students, and they are dedicated to cultivating a "reserve army" for meteorological research
Chen Yilun regards teaching as the most important part of his daily scientific research, undergraduate students can use classroom knowledge to answer questions in life and improve their problem-solving skills, and graduate students can broaden their understanding of the frontiers of the discipline and use their curiosity to continue to explore in related directions, which is the ideal teaching effect in his mind. "I often think about how to make the course more interesting, how to guide students from knowledge, ability and emotion, and cultivate a 'reserve army' for meteorological research. ”
This semester, Chen Yilun opened a public elective course "Aerial Catastrophe: Meteorological Crisis". This course is fully selected, very popular with students, and has a high "head-up rate". "Mr. Chen explained the obscure knowledge thoroughly in a relaxed and humorous way. He Jiong told reporters. In the classroom, Chen Yilun brought out a geography question in the first year of junior high school to test many students, and he used it to stimulate everyone's attention to meteorological knowledge and lead to the course content.
For different categories of students and courses, Chan chooses different teaching methods. "Public elective courses are more like popular science, which must be understood by undergraduates of different majors, with the aim of stimulating students' interest in exploration. In addition to theoretical learning, students should also be taught how to apply knowledge to practice and help them find the problems in the scientific research process. "I often help graduate students read the code line by line, fight wits and courage with the program, and find errors and omissions together, which is quite a pleasure to solve puzzles. ”
During the lecture, he set up a real-time anonymous "barrage" on the big screen, so that students can freely express their opinions and send questions or feedback at any time. He has also developed a variety of useful "new ways to play". When it comes to visibility, he teaches his students to use a sniper's "thumb range" to observe visibility. "It's a simple and convenient way to do it, just have your hands. The knowledge we learn is not abstract, it is closely related to daily life. ”
"My students promise to take their hands by hand", "don't take students for work", "don't let students do chores" and other "bold words" made Chen Yilun angry, but he thought that this should be a tutor's "basic operation", and he was not special. In March this year, he was awarded the title of "Five-Star Financial Reimbursement Single" by CUHK for his "outstanding performance in the quality and quantity of document delivery", "I will never let students do miscellaneous work such as reimbursement and express delivery for me, my students only do professional things".
He named the WeChat group of his graduate student team "Typhoon Circle Divider", and under the drive of him, the "helmsman", teachers and students talked about everything. In his view, "Cultivating students is not only about teaching knowledge, but also about caring for them in life." We are the same age, I can understand the students' thoughts, and I will work with them to solve the problems they encounter. Teachers and students trust each other more, and work and study more efficiently. Liu Tianao told reporters: "Teacher Chen often sings and plays badminton with us, like a senior brother. Jiang Shuairu, a student of the undergraduate elite class, said, "Mr. Chen is more like a friend who walks in the future, and he is always willing to give us support and help." ”
Regarding the hot discussion on the Internet, "about the same age as the students, and some students are even older than him", he believes that "there is a precedence in hearing the Tao", and does not "talk about heroes" by age, "scientific research is judged by professional ability, and whoever says it right will listen to whom", he once brought a graduate student who was older than himself, and he would also humbly listen to the academic advice of his peers younger than himself.
It is worth mentioning that he also opened up his personal platform as a "second classroom" to guide the "prospective graduate students" from the perspective of his mentor. "Scientific research experience is the top priority of PPT, understand the meaning of each term on PPT" "Don't be vague in your future plans, you can contact your supervisor in advance, conduct preliminary research on literature, and it is best to have a good-looking flow chart" "The methods and materials used should be fully prepared, and appropriate expansion of broad knowledge, such as celebrities familiar with the discipline"...... His graduate re-examination "strategy post" has received a large number of attention and praise from netizens, and he has also become a "mentor of netizens".
Text丨Reporter Chen Liang Intern Xie Xinxi Luo Yuhan
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