“Studying at USTC is like long-distance running or swimming. The more tired you are, the more indispensable it will be to learn to adjust your breathing and swing your arms,” said the Guo Moruo Scholarship laureate HE Xiang, who is also the top student in the School of Earth and Space Sciences in the year 2020.
The Guo Scholarship is the highest honour for undergraduates in USTC, the first scholarship established by China and named after an individual. Coming from a region with scarce educational resources in Yibin, Sichuan Province, HE Xiang did not even anticipate that his potential would be exploited to such a great extent in USTC.
An adaptable running: change of mindset
HE Xiang’s inexorable relationship with physics had begun ever since his first year of high school, when a professor from Peking University came to give a lecture about geophysics. His passion for physics became so great that he chose physics as his first aspiration in his College Entrance Examination.
Nonetheless, he was not very clear about his future during his high school, and his scores were just poor enough that he was not admitted into the physics major at USTC. As a concession, he entered the College of Earth and Space Sciences. Fortunately, it was in such a college that he found his lifelong passion.
What appears to be a glamorous life today was a stressful one when he arrived at USTC. “My freshman and sophomore year were deadly dull. With endless homework, I had to get up at 7 a.m. and go running at 9 p.m. every day.” However, facing such a gruelling academic task, he did not even flinch and became really self-disciplined, never missing a single class.
In terms of academics, the most important thing he learnt at USTC was to make adjustments in his learning style. His study method was not optimal at first. He worked very hard in the course Mechanics B for example, but still did poorly. Gradually, he realised that studying in university is different from that in high school which didn’t entail reviewing very much.
“You must be good at summarizing at university. The most important thing in a course is not to understand everything of it, but that the professor will frame some scope of knowledge to guide you in exploring, sorting and reviewing on your own.” With this unique style of learning, he has been at the top of his class since his freshman year.
HE currently focuses on numerical simulations of the drift of plates. Being keen on such a cold direction, he will go to the University of Texas at Austin for a 5-year PhD.
“I will definitely return to China after graduation. As a direction with globally scarce researchers, geodynamics is relatively more valued in China. But I still hope to go out and have a look, after all, I have never had the experience of studying abroad before.”
A convivial running: mentors, teachers, friends
As a modestly-scaled academy with only about 40 students per year, the School of Earth and Space Sciences is equipped with excellent teachers and resources. His amiable and accommodating teachers laid an important foundation for HE Xiang's success.
“To be honest, the professors here are exceptional, they put more emphasis on ideas and understanding of physical models,” He commented. In his first year, he was introduced to each of the school’s major. Being told that the continental drift of the earth could be simulated by computer methods, his idea of doing research in this area emerged.
There are three people who have the deepest influence on him. The first one is Mr LIU Lijun, his tutor during his summer research in Beijing. As an alumnus of USTC, LIU was very willing to recruit HE. “At that time, I was really starting from scratch in geophysical research.” It was through this summer research that he found his research direction in computer simulation of plate motion.
Professor HUANG Jinshui, who taught HE Xiang's Introduction to Earth Science in his freshman year, also gave him initial inspiration. HUANG's class mentioned plate tectonics theory and the possibility of reconstructing this process by computer simulation. Being fascinated, he joined Prof. HUANG’s library as a sophomore. HUANG provided him with a server platform for computation, gave him guidance and advice, and he often discussed related issues with colleagues in the group.
HE also has a very close relationship with his class advisor, Ms. DAI Zhiyang. He often talks to her about future planning, research and employment. DAI used to go out with HE and other classmates to dinner, chat, and even play badminton.
A perdurable running: A great leap in personality
Academically, HE Xiang is a real “workaholic” and has high demands on himself. However, his extracurricular life is more than monotonous.
When he came to the friendly environment of the School of Earth and Space Sciences, his originally introverted personality gradually changed into an easy-going one. The tiny scale of the School of Earth and Space has created an environment for good social interaction. Courses are mainly conducted in the forms of small class or seminar. In the course Seismology, there were only about a dozen people in the class, and they are just free to discuss.
It was in this social environment that his acquaintances multiplied. In his sophomore year, he overcame his “social phobia” and joined the library volunteer team, thanks to the help of his outgoing friends in the school. He also went to Changsha to participate in the Geophysical Knowledge Contest and won the Grand Prize.
HE also has many hobbies. Particularly fond of running and playing badminton, he also learned to swim at USTC. According to him, there is a lot more academic pressure at universities, and he has to play sport to relax.
HE was particularly inspired by his PE teacher who taught him freshman Fitness and Swimming and made him realise that studying at USTC is comparable to “aerobic exercise”. We should launch “long-distance running” at least two weeks before deadlines to avoid an “anaerobic” state and unbearable schedule like in high school. It is with this philosophy of running that he has achieved the balance between academics and life.
(Written by JIANG Zhimo, edited by JIANG Zhimo, USTC News Center)
