From 19:00 to 21:15 on the evening of October 30th, the 135-minute science T Conference of the world's top scientists held the first lesson of science on the banks of Lingang Dishui Lake in Pudong, Shanghai. This is a special class, the teacher, the students, the content, the way of teaching, and the location of the class are all different. When a middle school student signed up for the audition, she was suspicious of a number of top scientists teaching, and when she came to the scene, she was deeply shocked.
She saw Michael Levitt, vice president of the World Association of Top Scientists and winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, personally present; she felt the love of Raymond Stevens, an internationally renowned structural biologist and winner of the 2019 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award; through the video, she listened to the teachings of Carl Weiman, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics, who elaborated on how to develop a scientific way of thinking and become the top scientist of the future.
The teachers of the first course of science are Jiang Xuefeng, professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of East China Normal University, and Jin Xianmin, professor of the dean of physics and astronomy of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Among the five professors who taught the lecture were 2 Nobel Laureates, 1 top scientist, and 2 well-known professors from double-first-class universities, calling it the "first lesson of science" worthy of the name.
From October 2018 to October 2021, in just 3 years, from the Youth Forum to the Science T Conference, to the Youth Talents Exchange and Dialogue Meeting, the World's Top Scientists Forum "In the Name of Teenagers, Burn the Light of Science" to disseminate scientific knowledge and promote the growth of young scientists.
Inaugural Forum: Young People Sit at Table 1
From October 28 to November 1, 2018, the first World Top Scientists Forum was held in Lingang, Shanghai. Among them, the Youth Forum invited more than 100 young scientists, divided into 12 tables, each table led by top scientists. The ideas discussed are written on a tablecloth, known as the "tablecloth forum."
The youngest average age is "Table 1". The other groups are dominated by Outstanding Young Scientists, and this table has 16 teenagers, including 3 undergraduates and 13 middle school students. Sitting with them were Professor Frank Wilsek, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Professor Chen Saijuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology.
In the group discussion, Professor Verzek and Professor Chen Saijuan enthusiastically solved the puzzles for the students one by one from their own life experience and scientific research experience, and instructed their young friends: "Don't rush to determine the direction when you are a student, you should continue to learn and explore, meet a variety of possibilities, and don't limit yourself to a certain field too early." "I was deeply impressed by the students.
Young scientists summarize the lively exchanges into three secrets: curiosity, concentration and courage, which are the most valuable qualities and charms of top scientists. Yang Hongjia, one of the 13 middle school students, said: "The experience of participating in the forum has further stimulated my continuous efforts to explore and discover the world of science, allowing me to further clarify my goals and clarify the direction. ”
The seeds of science are sown, and interest in science is stimulated!
The second forum: "Talking about the FangLin phenomenon" set off a scientific fever
The second World's Top Scientists Forum was held as scheduled at the end of October 2019. Compared with the first session, there are more small scientists invited, the scope of invitations is wider, and the influence is greater, and the "Talking Fanglin Phenomenon" has triggered heated discussions in the media and society.
In fact, in October 2018, Tan Fanglin, who was still in the third year of junior high school, participated in the first forum. Professor Wielzek made suggestions for the small scientific projects she was working on, and the biggest inspiration for her was to maintain curiosity and interest in science and be brave and fearless in the face of scientific problems.
When she participated in the Youth Forum a year later, Tan Fanglin was already a senior high school student at the Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University, one of the "Four Famous Schools" in Shanghai. At only 15 years old, she has won the first prize of the "33rd National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition". With the "estimation of Fibonacci sequences and Bezu numbers", she was reported by the media to reach hundreds of millions of traffic in a few days, instantly becoming a household name.
The young scientists who participated in the forum in 2019 are no longer limited to Shanghai, and representatives from Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing and other places have participated. This is thanks to the "Talent Program" of the China Association for Science and Technology, which selects the best among the talents of science and technology, and Wang Yanyi of Beijing No. 4 Middle School is one of the best.
Wang Yanyi clearly remembers that the "heavyweight guests" at Table 1 at that time were 1999 Nobel Prize winner Hofter, 2016 Nobel Prize winner Kosterlitz, and 2015 Turing Prize winner Hermann. He said that while short exchanges cannot be directly translated into actual results, the guidance of top scientists is like a beacon in the fog, which will accompany him for a lifetime.
The third forum: Science T Conference shines
With the continuous progress of science and technology and the high enthusiasm of young people in science, only 20 to 30 small scientists participating in the World's Top Scientists Forum every year can no longer meet the demand. After careful consideration, the organizers decided to set up the World's Top Scientists Science T Conference for young people. T stands for Teenager (teen), Talent (talent), Timeless (eternity)... It symbolizes the infinite hope placed on small sciences.
On the evening of October 31, 2020, the Science T Conference was brilliantly unveiled, and the teaching lineup included: Roger Koenberg, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and president of the World Association of Top Scientists, Michael Levitt, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and vice president of the Association of Top Scientists of the World, Xie Xiaoliang, winner of the 2015 Albany Medical Prize, and John Hopcroft, winner of the 1986 Turing Prize.
The protagonist of the T Conference is more than 50 small scientists selected from all over the country. Among them, Li Yiting, who "writes with one hand and scientific research with the other hand", and Guo Qinsong, who develops scientific research, music and sports, and other "children of others" have emerged, leading the whole society to pay attention to the cultivation of scientific reserve talents.
It is worth noting that Huai Jinpeng, then secretary of the party leading group, executive vice chairman, first secretary of the secretariat, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the exchange and dialogue meeting of young talents held the day before. Huai Jinpeng pointed out that young scientific and technological innovation talents must first have "courage", second, they must have "ability", and third, they must have "Tao" and "Reason". He sent a message to the vast number of young talents: "We must graft the value of science and the light of science on the light of world civilization, and let the world's scientific and technological powers bloom and carry forward in your generation." ”
4th Forum: Sowing more scientific seeds
The Fourth World Top Scientists Forum, Science T Congress has become a landmark forum as important as the Möbius Forum and the World's Top Scientists Young Forum. This year's Science T Conference, in cooperation with the Youth Science and Technology Center of the China Association for Science and Technology, was the first time that the shanghai selection was conducted, and middle school students across the country could participate by asking questions to top scientists.
In the past two months, more than 6,000 school-age students from all over the country (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) and overseas participated in the activities. Questions raised by Students such as Hebei Longyao Yi Middle School Miao Yi and Yunnan Dianchi Middle School Lu Xingchen were selected by Nobel Prize scientists such as Randy Schekman and Harvey Alter to answer them by video.
Some of the students who participated in the activity also got the opportunity to interact with the Nobel Laureates and communicate in real time. For many students who are not in urban areas, this is a rare opportunity for them to interact with top scientists. Pi Tianyou of the No. 1 High School in Qishan County, Henan Province, participated in the connection with the teachers of the school, surrounded by a circle of classmates behind her, and her principal was also "watching" at the scene; another school in Henan, Nanyang No. 1 Middle School, even hung a banner to congratulate students Wang Haoan on participating in the event.
The through competition co-sponsored with shanghai science and technology art education center and Shanghai youth science research institute also makes the selection of small scientists more open and transparent. In the future, the format of the direct race will also be promoted to all parts of the country.
In the end, the number of small scientists participating in the forum exceeded a record of 120, and small scientists from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Taiwan and overseas were selected; some small scientists in the Central and Western regions participated in the conference for the first time. More scientific seeds are being sown.
Looking to the future: Continuing to "support the growth of young people"
Why let top scientists like Nobel laureates teach the first lesson of science? In addition to motivation, it is more important to teach the process of doing research, to convey the spirit of science, the characteristics of scientists. They can let the children know why they do research, how scientists do research, and what to do when they encounter difficulties?
On the other hand, "supporting the growth of young people" is one of the three missions of the world's top scientists association and forum, and it is also the basis for the continued development of science. Top scientists such as Carl Wiyman, 2011 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Dan Shechtman, and John Hopcroft place science education on an equally important footing with scientific research, and even devote themselves full-time to the training of future scientists.
Top scientists generally agree that the most important thing about being a scientist is not to be smart, but to be "curious, liked, and persistent." And these traits are mainly cultivated before adulthood. Therefore, they are willing to communicate with small scientists and spare no effort to pass on scientific thinking, scientific attitudes, and scientific methods.
From the first World Top Scientists Forum in 2018 to the fourth session this year, from the Youth Forum to the Science T Conference, from Shanghai to the whole country and even at home and abroad, from the initial 13 people to the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of students affected now... The mission of "supporting youth growth" remains unchanged, and the scene of top scientists and small scientists sharing the stage will continue.
(Editor-in-charge: Ge Junjun, Han Qing)
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