Zheng Chen

Full transcript

going to welcome our professor Chen. So thank you very much to take time to speak with us. Let's have a talk with us. So would you please introduce your job and yourself to us?

Yeah sure. So at first I want to welcome you guys to visit our campus. So I'm a professor about environmental science at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. So my job, so half of my time is teaching.

So I I teach in the university. I teach in how to use an instrument to measure the environmental pollutants. And that's how I do research. So I study soil.

Soil, you know that you see soil every day, but the soil is very complex and very important for our day-to-day life. So all the forests are full of new soils. So if you want safe and delicious food, so we have to care for the soil. This is my research.

Okay, so now we know a lot about your career and your future experience. So we also, we are very thankful for you to provide us that healthier food. So we want to ask that, to looking back your career, so what first inspired you to work forward to this subject and what actually give you those passionate to the interest through the soil and also through the field these years? OK.

That will be a long story. So my first choice in the university is chemistry. I was very good at chemistry. So I love chemistry.

I think chemistry is easy. I can do lots of great jobs with chemistry. But I spent four years in one of the top chemistry programs in the Chinese University. And so at that time I feel, okay, chemistry is not that fancy because you have to stay your, so most time in the lab with machine.

I prefer stay outside this, outside the city in nature. So that's why I just think about, so when I got my bachelor degree, I was thinking, so what I should do next. And then I had a chance to visit the research center for environmental science in the Chinese Academy of Science. It's a very long name, just the institute.

So I met my supervisor. So then I said, OK, I think that I maybe move from chemistry to environmental science. So this is the main reason. So I'm still working with chemistry, but I can spend some time in the field, not just in lab.

well so sir I know that you have a very long academic journey like from Peking University and Hokkaido University you've been studying and your major is actually fantastic and I think I have a really interesting question like imagine you're talking to a 10 years old kid and can you explain to him like what is your major and what is actually your teaching? What are you teaching? I'm teaching so I'm teaching this then how to use instruments so you know instruments not the instrument to play music, the instrument in the lab we use the instrument to measure so to measure the fruit and chemicals in the environment so So, instrument is something you can see the world that we cannot see with our naked eyes. So, like, spectrum.

Spectrum is light. So we can use light to see the world, but if we have a better instrument which can separate the light into different wavelengths, then we can get more information. So that's the difficult part. I have to say that Western is quite confused about the theories behind the instrument.

It's not an easy module, but it's a lot of fun because you are not going to learn the knowledge just sitting in the classroom. You have to go to a lab, you have to operate the machine by yourself, and you have to check the samples. So there are many hands-on activities. So you are interested in a lot of hands-on activities.

OK, so we know a lot about during the class. So actually, students spend many times in using those instruments and just using your hands to maybe take part in those experiments. So we also want to know that because actually many high school students like us, they're still very confused about environmental engineering and what does it compare with science? Because especially many students nowadays, especially in Chinese, they actually do not really know about the clearly illustrates about these two subjects or these two classes.

So would you please actually tell us the difference between these two? Sure. So before I talk about environmental engineering, I think I should so clarify two concepts. One is science another is technology So we usually say okay science technology things so things yeah In Chinese we call it science and technology but actually they are quite different right Could you give an example, so who are the greatest scientists in the world?

living on that, no matter who Einstein is. Einstein, right? Okay, so put it down. No, Moses is a successful engineer.

Elon Musk. Yeah, Elon Musk. That's the only name. Yeah, it shows up.

So Musk obviously is the first prince. Yes, because he's really popular nowadays. Yeah, he's popular, but he always said that we need all of the first principle to do engineering. The principle, the theory, the mechanism, so all of them are created by scientists.

But scientists never produce products. Engineer produce products. So we ask, as a scientist, we ask a good question. We only care about the questions.

Who are we and so how the science is going to work. came from the Darwin. And so Einstein asked, if we move as fast as the light, what will we see? So they asked very good questions and find the answer.

So this is how scientists work. And so it's about, can we build a better computer? Can we move the human from the earth to the mass? They ask different questions, so they have different skills.

In modern engineering, it's a little different. We care about solving the problem in the environment. It's two words, one is question, the other is problem. So it seems the same thing, especially in the Chinese context.

But the questions of power are different. You have real power, and so the atmosphere is contaminated, we have to purify the air, and we have to clean the water, and we have to protect the earth. So there are some real problems and those problems are going to influence our health, cause some disease, or even cost some money. So those are the problems, engineers solve those problems.

Environmental engineers solve the problems in the environment. Among all the research projects you have done, which one do you think makes you feel proudest or the most meaningful project you have ever done? This is a very classic question, so you are going to say the next one, right? Once a question is solved, then the question is not charming yet.

So only the question we don't know the answer is attractive. If we don't know the answer, we don't think the question is valuable. So in the future, we really value the question, especially when we have AI. AI have all the knowledge, but AI cannot do research.

Because, so what is knowledge? Knowledge like the things that learn and... Yeah, and one job for the scientist is to create knowledge. How can we create knowledge?

By experimenting from other things that we haven't done yet, and then we use the knowledge to... we have knowledge nowadays and we use these existing knowledge to find more knowledge yeah that's true but that's just one word how we find knowledge use your imagination you have to imagine how this word is... how... so...

so you have to imagine the answer first and then verify the answer answer. So this is very simple. When you ask any question, you are going to think about what will be the answer for the question. And the answer may be true, may be wrong, but it is not important.

So you have to use the imagination to find the answer first and then verify this answer. So this is the process, how we do research. What's the question? From all your research projects, which one is the most meaningful or proudest?

there is a key question I've been working on for many many years is how the energy moves in the solar system. So we still didn't solve this issue yet. But this is why I think this question is very objective. I think it would be the solution for the climate change.

So now we know a lot about your interest and you and that professor, you really want, you're really interested in future projects and also looking forward to focus on some future questions So we want to ask that is there any project that is looked at very promising at first when it planned Because we know that future is usually connected with plans and schedules, but it actually didn't go as they're planned, or they just have some problems. So how did you overcome those difficulties? And also, what did this experience teach? That's a lot.

Actually most of the projects we did were failed. That's normal because we are in the university. So if you work in the company, the company don't invest in high risk projects. But in the university, we always do high-risk projects.

So if this project only has a 50% possibility that the project will fail, then we may think the project is not worthy to do because it's not challenging. and we have to think, okay, this project is high risk, so then high risk means high novelty. Okay, another thing is that, so you know, as a scientist, we have to grant proposals for money, and the government will fund our research, or the university will fund our research, At the beginning, we were going to write a proposal which looks very beautiful, because we checked the grants from the government. However, there is a very high chance that the proposal cannot work.

Then we have to change to another idea and test the idea again. So then this is the procedure. We have to propose our idea as fast as possible and verify it and check the results and propose another idea. So there is no so-called end point.

So you have to repeat this process a lot of time. And you mentioned that you want to be a product designer. Actually, it also happened in companies. So you have to make the products very quick and then test the product in the market.

And if the market don't like your idea, then you have to propose another one. So that's normal, not like in high school you are going to start your project or start some class right now and you have to finish it in 3 or 4 months and then it's completed. But in the real life, this process, I don't think it could clear any point. So, unlike with the companies, they are looking forward to get the results, but in our university, we're looking forward for the only experience that we have in our project, right?

Okay. Yeah. Sorry, I have a question. From the things you said, have you ever faced any biggest issue or the most challenging part from all your projects you have done before?

Have you ever faced any big challenge? It's a big challenge. I have. So when I moved to this university, it was a big challenge.

I think this is also a big challenge for you guys if you are going to move from one country to another country, or move from one school to another school. So as you can see, you are going to feel excited at the same time. I work in the Chinese Academy of Science, it is the top institute in China. And then I moved to this university, it is brand new.

We don't know whether we are headed there, but we have to build this place by ourselves. We have lots of freedom and we can do anything we want. That's the good thing. But we don't have enough support at other Chinese institutes.

So we have to find a way by ourselves. I think that China is a good thing because it's going to push you to do something right. I have a final question. If there are high school students came into your office and asked you, I want to be someone like you in the future, I want to do your major and I think that's fantastic, what would you say?

Would you give some expression for him? Do you really think so? Some high school students will ask this question because I don't think the young member wants to be some support guy in the future. You have your own idea.

No, so I don't think that people should copy my pathway. So I don't think it can be copied by others. You're going to have new opportunities. And so as we mentioned outside of time, you need to find something you are really interested in.

So how do you find the things you are really interested in? So actually the answer is talking to them that be yourself is the first step that you have to take. Yeah, but how can you know you are you? So how can you know that?

So what are the things you really check it in So do you have anything you feel excited Well, when I finished my final project, when I have a new assessment and I finish on the deadline, doing very successfully, it will be very happy. As you mentioned you want to be a product designer, so if you are a designer for the cell phone from Apple company, will you feel successful or excited when your idea was finally approved and get a big success in the market? I mean if you really enjoy the job, I would say it will be successful because you like the job. But like, so I really like doing the engineering research work and I like to, I will try to make my own project and about phone holder how to make like how to make like it's like more convenient like when using a phone and you want to like hold it and if you are going to feel excited at that moment then maybe this is your future something you should do in the future if you want to work in Brazil.

And so what's the most important issue in Brazil right now? Because actually, when I'm going to Brazil, I will meet actually a lot of students and also professors and teachers from all around the world. Actually, a huge part of them, they're not from China. And I have to maybe speak to them by totally English.

I have to know their cultures, and I have to know a lot about Brazil, the city. So it's a really big chance for me to live in the city for almost a month, and I have to just live with those teachers and students for a long time. So I think it will actually be a little bit big chance, because I just live in China for those years, and I haven't been apart from my country for that long time. So I don't think that is the kind of question.

But actually, I'm a little bit strange because talking about the things that I will feel success is about actually, I used to dream like I will be a devilman in the future, especially when I'm in my senior high school and I used to be a core member of our MUN club. So actually, I didn't just learn well in the club. And when I just entered some MUN meetings in SFLS, I just didn't get well. And I didn't get those champagnes in the meetings.

So actually, now I didn't have any time to just work in those MUN clubs. I just don't have the opportunity. So I think in the future, I will have another chance to work in those kind of things that I used to like before. And I just got a chance.

I would think that, oh, I'm better than myself yesterday. So I think this will give me some fascinating experience. Yeah, yeah. I think there's very few Chinese that we did for at the level.

They're going to be very happy to see some new things. So if you go there, usually people feel scared to know some strangers and talk to the supervisors. But I think you are quite good. So when you talk about the yoga, so the current days in Brazil, you look very happy and you want to share and talk with new friends.

Yeah, so I think that you have to get the talent in doing this yoga. Thank you. Okay. So thank you very much for sharing your experience and that's all about our questions today.

So we hope your journey and your work will inspire many students in the future and students like us will also keep exploring the environmental engineering and also our subject and our future. I also think this is a very promising area and especially in the future we are going to invest more money in this field. Because people are feeling the environmental change right now. So this year, in China it's okay, but you may remember last year the temperature was very high in China.

So this is one very important symptom about climate change. And the same things are happening in Europe. If you read the news, in Europe the temperature is raised to about 40 degrees, and there is no air conditioning in Europe. So people really feel the hot moment there.

But I don't know what happened in Brazil, I didn't read the news, maybe you can tell us later. Ok, so very nice to meet your guest here, and really hope to see your guest later in some conference or in some activities. Yeah, maybe you can show the names on some newspaper. Okay.

I appreciate that.