Sheheed: A lifelong "fighter" with the motherland in mind

Source: China Science Daily

In 1982, Shahid was in the office of the Physics Building of Fudan University. Courtesy of Fudan University

Xie Xide, Sheng Jinzhang, Wang Xiji, Wen Shengchang... They were all born in 1921, and they are all academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From saving the country through science to rejuvenating the country through science and technology, they express their deepest love for the party and the country with the scientific spirit of daring to innovate, the rigorous and realistic style of study, and the attitude of indifferent to fame and fortune.

A hundred years of original intention, long-lasting. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, China Science Daily launched a series of articles on the "Scientific Life • Centennial Journey" column, taking you closer to 10 academicians of the same age as the party, telling their touching stories of seeking truth and seeking truth and serving the country with science and technology, and showing their scientific spirit of pioneering and enterprising, immersed in research, in order to gain wisdom and enlightenment from them.

On the campuses of Fudan University and Xiamen University, The statue of Xie Xide is placed in a prominent position, and his identity includes academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, former president of Fudan University, one of the pioneers of semiconductor physics in China, and one of the pioneers and founders of surface physics in China. But for more young students, Sheheed is just a name.

On March 19, 2021, in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Sheheed's birth, Fudan University's original master drama "Sheheed" was staged continuously, bringing this "master" back to the public eye.

Like a "fighter", Xie Xide has struggled for China's scientific research and education for decades in the midst of illness. At the age of 17, she was diagnosed with osteoarticular tuberculosis, leaving her disabled; at the age of 37, she underwent surgery for kidney stones; at the age of 39, she was diagnosed with autonomic premature beats; and from the age of 45, she "fought three rounds" with breast cancer... But these tribulations did not deter Shahid, who was a person who did not accept defeat. At the age of 59, she was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; at the age of 62, she became the female president of Fudan University in Shanghai; at the age of 67, she entered politics again and was elected chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Sheheed, all his life with the motherland in mind, unremitting struggle.

Returning to China to pursue academic research

In 1947, After graduating from Xiamen University, Xie Xide went to the United States to study. On October 1, 1949, Shahid, who was studying for a master's degree in the United States, heard the news of the founding of New China and was excited. She was 28 years old.

However, Shaheed's idea of urgently returning to China was temporarily shelved due to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. At that special time, it was difficult for Chinese science and engineering students to leave the United States, so she had to continue her doctoral studies at MIT. But her idea of "returning to China to participate in socialist construction" has not changed, but has become stronger.

Therefore, Sheheed consulted with his fiancé Cao Tianqin, who was studying for a doctorate in Britain, to first get married in Britain and then find a way to return to China.

In 1952, Sheheed finally got his wish. She and her newlywed husband ventured back to their home country, where she planned to be assigned to teach at Jiaotong University (the predecessor of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Xi'an Jiaotong University), and later adjusted to Fudan University with the national university department. At that time, new China studied the Soviet teaching system, and Shahid had to undertake extremely heavy teaching tasks. From 1952 to 1956, she taught six basic and professional courses, and wrote textbooks and lecture notes.

Ye Ling, an 83-year-old professor in the Department of Physics at Fudan University, said they not only used the materials as teaching materials, but also often read them in their scientific research work.

In May 1956, at the age of 35, Shehid joined the Communist Party of China.

In the same year, the state proposed the development of semiconductor technology and decided to convene relevant teachers and students from five universities of Peking University, Fudan University, Jilin University, Nanjing University and Xiamen University to Peking University to open China's first semiconductor specialized training course. The training course was headed by Professor Huang Kun of the Department of Physics of Peking University and Deputy Director by Xie Xide.

Since then, she has had more intersection with Huang Kun, another pioneer in semiconductor physics in China.

In the autumn of 1958, Xie Xide and Huang Kun co-edited "Semiconductor Physics", which is the earliest monograph in the field of semiconductors in China; in 1962, she and Huang Kun jointly proposed to carry out solid energy spectroscopy research in China; in 1992, she and Huang Kun formed a preparatory team to "invite" the most authoritative international conference in the field of semiconductor physics to China.

During this time of solid energy spectroscopy research, Shaheed was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she did not stop thinking and breaking new ground.

Gradually, she discovered that a new cross-cutting science, surface science, was forming between solid state physics, materials science, and quantum chemistry, based on surface physics. To this end, she conducted extensive research and launched an initiative to develop surface physics in China at the National Conference on the Planning of Natural Science Disciplines at the end of 1977.

"Looking back, choosing to develop surface physics was a very correct choice." Hou Xiaoyuan, a student of Xie Xide and former director of the State Key Laboratory of Applied Surface Physics at Fudan University, explained that with the increasing integration of large-scale integrated circuits, the proportion of surfaces is also increasing, and the role is becoming more and more important.

Sheheed has always played the role of a pioneer in his discipline. "For the frontier direction in the field of science, Mr. Xie always has a very accurate grasp." Ye Ling said.

In 1980, Sheheed was elected a member of the Faculty of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In the early 1980s, Bardeen, a famous American scientist and two-time Nobel Laureate in Physics, led a delegation to visit China. After returning to China, he praised: "In the Chinese scientific community, Professor Sheehid is one of the most influential people. ”

He is in charge of educating talents in colleges and universities

In 1958, after completing the task of the training class, Shahid returned to Fudan University to reorganize his forces and build the Semiconductor Physics Department. In a very short period of time, Fudan University quickly established 8 research laboratories on the basis of the original Department of Physics and the Second Department of Physics. Ye Ling was transferred to work under Sheheid at this stage, and she remembered that As the leader of the discipline, Sheheed was busy preparing for the establishment of new majors and forming new teams every day, and the pace of work was very tense.

She also founded the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1958. Under the careful guidance and organization of Sheehid, the Institute adheres to the principle of attaching equal importance to applied technology and basic research, and has cultivated a large number of talents, laying the foundation for development.

In 1983, Xie Xide officially became the president of Fudan University, becoming the first female president of a new Chinese university. In the meantime, Sheheed was far-sighted and bold in pioneering.

In the past 10 years as vice president and president of Fudan University, she has taken the lead in breaking the "Soviet model" of only liberal arts and sciences in China, adding the School of Technical Sciences, the School of Economics, the School of Management, etc., turning Fudan University into a comprehensive university with humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, technical sciences and management sciences.

She grasps the construction of the teacher team, adopts the method of breaking the rules and promotion, encourages discipline leaders to stand out, and promotes young teachers to be top-notch; she pays attention to giving play to the guiding role of teachers in teaching and educating people, implements the tutor system, and hires well-known teachers to implement "one-to-one, one-to-many" training for students; she sets up "principal mailboxes", "principal forums" and "press conferences" to communicate all aspects of the situation in the school, so that existing problems can be solved in a timely manner; she emphasizes that education should achieve cross-cutting and compound talent training...

Even as principal, Sheheed has always stuck to the front line of teaching and educating people.

Shehed is known for her academic rigor, and she has set a record in the history of teaching at Fudan University.

In the spring of 1982, Hou Xiaoyuan entered Fudan University to pursue graduate studies, taking the "group theory" course opened by Xie Xide, and "encountered" Xie Xide's difficult examination paper during the final exam.

"That exam was taken from morning to afternoon, and the students who turned in the papers the fastest also took six or seven hours, and the last to turn in the papers even dragged past dinner." Hou Xiaoyuan recalled.

After Hou Xiaoyuan's doctoral thesis was completed, it was repeatedly revised by himself and reviewed and corrected by many teachers before it was submitted to the supervisor Xie Xide. Hou Xiaoyuan, who thought that he would soon get smooth feedback, did not expect to go through two rounds of revisions - Xie Xide was very careful, and circled the typos in the article, the mistakes in the spelling of foreign names, and the capitalization errors.

At that time, the papers were all handwritten forms, and Hou Xiaoyuan, who thought that the words were not good enough, specifically asked a friend with beautiful handwritten fonts to help him transcribe it again when he submitted it for the last time. After reviewing it, Sheheed pointed out the errors in the transcription process one by one in the comments, and commented that "the more copied, the more wrong it is." These four words, Hou Xiaoyuan kept in mind.

Strict academically, life is like a loving mother. "Mr. Xie is busy at work, but he is very concerned about our young people." Ye Ling had visited Northwestern University in the United States on the recommendation of Sheehid, during which he received a letter from home saying that Xie Xide and his secretary Cao Peifang had come to visit him. "She said to my father, your daughter has been out for two years and can't be with you, if you have any difficulties, just tell me."

Jiao Yang, the party secretary of Fudan University, graduated from school in 1983 and happened to become neighbors with Xie Xide. "I still vividly remember the scene when I waited for the school bus at the school bus point on Urumqi South Road with the old principal at dawn."

In the car, the teachers put forward various opinions and requests, and Shahid wrote them down one by one and discussed them with everyone in depth. "It is a very pleasant thing to hear the voices of the grass-roots level of the school in the car and to publicize the school's policies and guidelines to everyone." Shaheed said so.

Every year, Sheheed writes letters of recommendation for students enrolled in the "Sino-US Joint Training Physics Graduate Program", and over the years, she has accumulated hundreds of letters of recommendation written by herself.

Advice and advice sprinkle residual heat

In 1985, Sheheed realized that there were many research and communication deficiencies between China and the United States, and he intended to establish the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, which became the first of its kind in the country. This year, she was 64 years old.

In order to solve the problem of funding, Shahid used his influence and popularity in the United States to travel around and seek support. In 1995, the Center for American Studies at Fudan University was completed. At present, the center has become an influential and high-level international research institution.

The bronze statue of Sheehid stands in front of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University to commemorate Sheehid's outstanding contributions to the center and to enhancing exchanges and communication between China and the United States.

As an "old man" in the academic community, Sheheed is the "liaison" between China's physics community and the international physics community. Despite his old age and infirmity, Shahid frequently led delegations to various international conferences. In particular, since 1983, she has participated in the APS March Meeting every year, and when she returned, she introduced the frontiers of physics to her domestic counterparts in a timely manner.

According to the needs of the country, Sheheed has also been invited to attend various international conferences on many occasions. Introduce China to the world as a scientist and enhance the understanding of China by the people of all countries. Her footprints have covered dozens of countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Thailand, and Venezuela.

In 1998, Shaheed felt unwell after attending the March meeting of the American Physical Society. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, but she did not stop the work at hand.

During his hospitalization, Shaheed's only request was to have a telephone in order to connect to a computer. Because her legs could not be bent, she could only stand and work. At this time, Shaheed still received many e-mails every day and dealt with a large number of affairs until acute heart failure and respiratory failure occurred. After the rescue, she could no longer stand up.

"Aren't you tired like this?" In May 1999, Wang Zengfan, then secretary of the principal's office, asked when he visited Sheheed.

"I am a person who is content and happy, and I am very satisfied to live to the age of 60, and every minute and second of my age of more than 60 will be used to work for education and scientific research, for the people, and for society."

That's what Shahid said and did. Before her death, she was still meeting with foreign guests to provide advice on running a school for the Institute of Higher Education at Peking University.

On March 4, 2000, half a month before his 79th birthday, Shahid could not hold on any longer. She left her beloved motherland and her beloved career of science and education forever. At the memorial service, the courtyard of the funeral home was crowded with mourners who shed tears.

The gentleman is gone, but Sheheed's life has left an indelible impression on countless people. Her spirit conveys a kind of strength that does not forget the original heart, is committed to serving the country, strives hard, and is indomitable. (China Science Daily reporter Qin Zhiwei)