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"Jiaxian, I understand what you mean by 'common way'..."
On September 22nd, the "Mr. Yang Zhenning Academic Thought Seminar - He Yang's 100th Birthday" was held at Tsinghua University.
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Hundred-year-old Yang Zhenning's Guangdong love affair
Yang Zhenning gave a speech entitled "I hope that people will be long-lasting, a thousand miles of common road" in the reply of his close friend Deng Jiaxian, recalling a "covenant on the same road" that spanned 50 years.
The speech was only 1280 words, but it was touching and admirable.
On the afternoon of September 22, Mr. Yang Zhenning's academic thought seminar was held. Image source: Tsinghua University Photo by Li Pai
On the same day, a three-episode documentary, "Mr. Yang Zhenning," appeared on CCTV, telling the story of his studies, scientific research, and contributions to China, as well as the story of his roots in Tsinghua University in 2003.
As the documentary footage skimmed past Yang Zhenning's Tsinghua University office, two special photographs appeared.
Image source: The opening of the documentary "Mr. Yang Zhenning"
The first photo is of Yang Zhenning in his tsinghua university office with Cheng Hongbo, the visiting party secretary of Dongguan Institute of Technology, and Li Lin, former president.
The second photo shows Yang Zhenning lecturing at Dongguan Institute of Technology, sharing the joy of learning and scientific research with teachers and students.
Yang Zhenning is one of the world's top scientists. But for a long time, how much attention was paid to his life, how much he ignored his unfathomable academic achievements.
The "reversal" begins to appear.
In recent years, people on the Internet have constantly asked questions about Yang Zhenning's academic achievements: Is he the world's greatest physicist today?
There are many answers, but one of the answers, the most likes: he is indeed, if you want to surpass him, you can only wait for Newton and Einstein to appear.
In 1957, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao received the Nobel Prize in Physics at the Swedish Palace. Infographic
In 1957, at the age of 35, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao won the Nobel Prize in Physics for proposing the principle of non-conservation of cosmology in weak interactions.
However, this is not his "peak"!
In 1994, Yang Zhenning was awarded the Bauer Prize by the Franklin Institute of the United States for the Yang-Mills theory.
At the time, the award speech argued that "this theoretical model, already ranked among the work of Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, will certainly have a similar impact on future generations."
In May 1999, a grand retirement ceremony was held for Yang Zhenning at the Stony Brook Institute of Theoretical Physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Infographic
Curiously, why did his Tsinghua University office put two special photos?
In fact, since January 1993, Yang Zhenning has been the honorary president of Dongguan Institute of Technology. Here, everyone affectionately called him "Principal Yang".
Yang Zhenning presented the Honorary Principal Certificate. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
After the reform and opening up, Guangdong's economic and social development has been rapid, and many central cities are in urgent need of high-level talents, and they have germinated the idea of running universities.
At that time, domestic cities ran universities, which had no precedent and lacked funds. Guangdong, which dares to be the first, takes the lead in "breaking the situation".
In just over a decade, 14 local universities, including Shenzhen University, Guangzhou University and Dongguan Institute of Technology, have been founded or merged, and Guangdong has set off a vigorous "new university movement" in central cities.
The trend of the times, the traditional agricultural county of Dongguan has also caught up.
When the county was dismantled in 1985, some people boldly envisioned the creation of a university. Dongguan invited dozens of villagers back from Hong Kong and raised 48 million yuan in one go as the "first bucket of gold" for the establishment of the university.
On April 2, 1992, Dongguan Institute of Technology officially obtained the "birth certificate" and obtained the approval of the former State Education Commission.
In the spring of the following year, Yang Zhenning "met" with the nascent university.
On January 13, 1993, Yang Zhenning gave a speech to teachers and students of Dongguan Institute of Technology. Source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
Yang Zhenning, who lectured at the University of hong Kong Chinese for 3 months every year, was the same as Fang Runhua, an entrepreneur from Dongguan and chairman of the Hong Kong Concord Bank Group, who was the trustee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong at that time. Accepting Fang Runhua's invitation, Yang Zhenning took a boat from Hong Kong to Humen and then took a car for more than an hour to arrive at Dongguan Institute of Technology.
In 1993, the inaugural issue of the Dongguan Institute of Technology reported that Yang Zhenning was hired as an honorary president. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
Many years later, he recalled the situation of his first visit to Dongguan Institute of Technology many times, mainly doing three things: giving an academic report, inscribing "Learning but not knowing enough", and being hired as an honorary president.
This is also the first time that Yang Zhenning has served as an honorary president in a domestic and foreign institution of higher learning.
Yang Zhenning's inscription "Learning and Knowing Enough" has become the motto of Dongguan Institute of Technology. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
This is not only an "encounter", but also an indissoluble relationship.
So far, Yang Zhenning has always paid attention to the reform and development of this local university, meeting with school leaders, teachers and students representatives 15 times in Beijing and Hong Kong, and visiting 5 times after returning to China in 2003; at the opening ceremony of new students in recent years, "President Yang" has appeared frequently to share learning experience, scientific research experience and life experience.
In May 2009, Yang Zhenning took a group photo with students in front of the bronze statue. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
At the opening ceremony, as soon as "Principal Yang" appeared in the video, the new students began to chase the stars:
"My decades of teaching and research are very closely related to the efforts I made when I was studying at Southwest United University."
"When you encounter difficulties and encounter times that you don't understand, this is your best learning opportunity." Be sure to take a serious approach and don't take it so-so. We must have a rigorous, truth-seeking, and innovative attitude to understand the problems. ”
"You grew up in an unprecedented era, and you must recognize the opportunities and responsibilities that this era has given you."
"Scientific innovation requires 'true feelings + wonderful understanding + efforts'..."
In November 2019, Yang Zhenning met with the leaders of Dongguan Institute of Technology at Tsinghua University. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
On the campus of Dongguan Institute of Technology, there are also Yang Zhenning's "imprints" everywhere: the opening of the only "Yang Zhenning Innovation Class" in China; the construction of the first teaching and research building named after Yang Zhenning; the establishment of the "Yang Zhenning Scholarship"; the erection of a bronze statue of Yang Zhenning...
"It's been almost 30 years, I've seen the school grow, and I'm sure there will be more important development in the next 10 years." In May 2018, Yang Zhenning recalled his first visit and said that his relationship with Dongguan Institute of Technology was unique at home and abroad.
This "only relationship" is not only the honorary president for 28 years, but also the expectation of the development of a local university.
In April 2017, Yang Zhenning took a group photo with alumni of Dongguan Institute of Technology. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
Dongguan has risen from a traditional agricultural county to a world-renowned industrial city and manufacturing city, creating an amazing miracle. The Dongguan Institute of Technology has accelerated the pace of reform, accelerated the impact on "first-class", and created an amazing development speed:
From being selected as a high-level science and engineering university construction university in Guangdong, to building a new high-level science and engineering university demonstration school, and then to the recent "upgrade" to a high-level university key discipline construction university; adding master's degree awarding units, and approved provincial doctoral degree awarding project construction units.
On January 26, 2021, the multiphysics spectrometer (Dongguan Polytechnic Spectrometer), which was led by Dongguan Institute of Technology and co-built with China Spallation Neutron Source and City University of Hong Kong, successfully produced beams, and the neutron beam flow was in line with expectations. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
In fact, Yang Zhenning's association with Guangdong and Guangdong universities can be traced back earlier.
Now, in Xian Weijian Hall on the south campus of Sun Yat-sen University's Guangzhou campus, there is also a bronze statue of Yang Zhenning, which vividly shapes his appearance during his lectures.
Xian was erected by JianTang as a statue of Yang Zhenning. Image source: Sun Yat-sen University Archives
In 1973, yang Zhenning heard that Jiang Lifu, a calculus teacher at Southwest United University, was at CUHK, and he went to visit him. Visiting CUHK for the first time opened a deep fate of nearly half a century.
Yang Zhenning visited the Department of Physics of Sun Yat-sen University. Image source: Sun Yat-sen University Archives
In 1983, Yang Zhenning attended the dinner of the CUHK Hong Kong Alumni Association.
He said humorously that since he has so many connections with CUHK, he can also be said to be half an alumnus of CUHK. "I thought that if I came back to your party next time, maybe I could justifiably say that I am an official CUHK alumnus."
That year, he also set up a foundation in Hong Kong.
The funds raised by the Foundation are used to fund the research of basic disciplines such as paleography, archaeology, ethnology, folklore, mathematics, and theoretical physics of CUHK. At that time, scientific research funds were very scarce, and the funding of the foundation could be described as a blessing in disguise. Until 2007, the Foundation donated more than RMB11 million, HK$360,000, a research building with an area of about 4,000 square meters (Sin Wei Jian Tang), and all the equipment in it to CUHK free of charge.
Professor Yang Zhenning taught at Sun Yat-sen University. Image source: Sun Yat-sen University Archives
According to the materials of the CUHK Archives, Yang Zhenning also went to CUHK many times to make academic reports and speeches.
After Yang Zhenning returned to China to settle down, Huang Daren, then president of CUHK, asked him for ways to teach and govern the school. When talking about the impression of CUHK, Yang Zhenning said, "In my heart, the first university is Tsinghua, which is where I grew up in my childhood, and the second is CUHK."
Guangdong and Hong Kong are adjacent, and Yang Zhenning's footprints are all over Guangdong universities and research institutes.
In 1988, he came to Shenzhen University to share the path of governance he had traveled in the past 40 years. In the impromptu question-answer session, some students asked Yang Zhenning to talk about his feelings when he won the Nobel Prize. "I just did something for the Chinese nation, which has been deeply bullied and humiliated by the great powers for a hundred years Chinese can do." He said.
In 1995, he came to Shantou University to participate in the First International Chinese Physics Conference.
In 2005, he came to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies to participate in the 40th anniversary of the founding of the university.
In 2015, he came to Southern University of Science and Technology to share his learning and research experience. When talking about this young university, Yang Zhenning did not forget to cheer up: "This is the youngest university I visited, and it is obviously the fastest growing university, and it will be successful in the future." ”
In February 2019, Yang Zhenning was invited to visit the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. Image source: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yang Zhenning's most recent visit to Guangdong was a visit to the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) in Dongguan, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The weight of the country is of great significance.
After visiting the linear accelerator, fast cycle synchrotron and target spectrometer hall, and learning that the southern light source will be built near the CSNS in the future, he felt that guangdong construction spallation neutron source is very far-sighted, the whole area will be closely linked with the development of high technology, and the prospects must be better.
3D printed model of Yang Zhenning teaching and research building. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
A few days ago, the office of Tsinghua University, a hundred-year-old Yang Zhenning, had a special "gift": a 3D model of Yang Zhenning's teaching and research building.
This special "gift" is from Guangdong, jointly produced by teachers and students of the 3D Printing and Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center of Dongguan Institute of Technology, using laser selection melting (SLM) molding technology, using aluminum alloy materials, 3D printing.
The Yang Zhenning Teaching and Research Building, which opened in 2020, is the first teaching and research building in China to be named after Yang Zhenning. Image source: Dongguan Institute of Technology
Today, two "Yang Zhenning Teaching and Research Buildings", one in the south, are new landmarks of educational integration, scientific research and university culture; one is in the north, witnessing the "common path" between this great scientist and Guangdong universities.
【Topic Researcher】 Wu Shaomin Wei Bohang
[Correspondents] Zou Qiong, Ye Miaoxian, Zhang Youbing
【Planning for this issue】Yu Lichuan
【Coordinator of this issue】Zhang Zhe
【Author】 Wu Shaomin
Guangdong education headlines
Source: South+ - Create more value