Zheng Chen

Full transcript

Hello everyone, welcome to our new project. My name is Cecilia and this is my partner. I'm James. Okay, so now we're on our project which is working to a future job and also working to an engineering professor.

So today we're going to welcome our professor Chen. Thank you very much to take time to speak with us, to have a talk with us. So would you please introduce your job and talk to us? Sure.

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

I teach how to use an instrument to measure the environmental pollutants. That half is research. So I study soil. We use sea salt every day, but the soil is very complex and very important for our day-to-day life.

So all the food is produced by the sea. So if you want safe and delicious food, we have to care for the soil. This is my research. Now we know a lot about your career and your future experience.

We are also very thankful for you to provide us with that healthier food. So we want to ask that, looking back at your career, what first inspired you to work forward to this subject? And what actually gave you those passionate to the interest through the soil and also through the field these years? Okay, 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 a lot of great jobs with chemistry. But I spent like four years in one of the top chemistry programs in the Chinese University. So at that time I feel chemistry is not that fancy because most time in the lab with machine, I prefer stay 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 should I do next?

And then I have a chance to visit a research center for environmental science in the Chinese Academy of Science. It's a very long name, just an institute. So I met my supervisor. I said, okay, I think I may be moved from chemistry to environmental science.

So that's the main reason. I'm still working with chemistry, but I can spend some time in the field, not just the lab. Well, sir, I know that you have a very long academic journey, like from Peking University and Hokkaido University you have been studying. And your major is actually fantastic.

And I think I have a really interesting question. Imagine you're talking to a 10-year-old kid, can you explain to him what is your major and what is your teaching? I'm teaching him how to use instruments. Instruments are not the instruments to play music, they are instruments in the lab.

We use instruments to measure the pollutants, chemicals in the environment. So instrument is something you can see the world that we cannot see with our naked eyes. Like spectrum. Spectrums are light.

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

It's not a easy module, but it's a lot of fun because you are not going to learn it 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'll understand a lot of the hands-on activities.

Okay, 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 play the big 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 clarity 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 clarify two concepts One is science another is technology So we usually say science technology things are the same thing Yeah. In Chinese, we call it 科技, science and technology. But actually they are quite different, right? Could you give an example?

So who are the greatest scientists in the world? Do you know that? My turn. Oh, I understand.

I understand, right? Okay, so put it down. No, that's for engineering. Elon Musk.

Yeah, Elon Musk. That's the only name. Yeah, it shows up. So Musk obviously is the first principle.

Yeah, because he's really popular nowadays. Yeah, he's popular, but he always say that we need more of the first principle to do engineering. Yeah, the principle, the theory, the magnetism, so all of them are created by scientists. But scientists never produce products.

We produce products. So we asked, as a scientist, we asked a good question. We only care about the question, who are we? So how the species came from, and so then as we move as fast as the light, what will we see?

So they asked very good questions and find answers. So this is how scientists work. And engineers, so they care about, can we build a better computer? Can we move the human from the Earth to the Mars?

So they ask different questions, so they have different skills. So in one day, it's a little different, so we care about that. So we solve the problem in the environment. So, you know, see, there's two words.

One is question, another is problem. So it seems the same thing, especially in the Chinese context. But the question of how we are different. Problems, you have real problems.

And so the atmosphere is contaminated. We have to purify the air and we have to clean the water. We have to protect the earth. So there are some real problems.

And those problems are going to influence our health, so cause some disease or you will have some money. So those are the problems, engineers solve those problems. And environmental engineers solve the problems in the environment. Okay, so among all the research projects you have done, like all of them, which one 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. 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.

In the future, we value the question, especially when we have AI. AI. AI has all the knowledge. But AI cannot do research.

Because what is knowledge? Knowledge like the things that learn. Yeah. And one job for scientists 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 the existing knowledge to refine more knowledge.

Yeah, that's true. But that's just one word. How do we find knowledge? You imagine.

You have to imagine how this word is how. So you have to imagine the answer first. And then verify the answer. So this is very simple.

When you ask the question, you are going to think about what will be the answer for the question. And the answer may be true, may be not so long, but it is not important. So you have to use your imagination to find the answer first and then verify this answer. So this is the process of how we do research.

yeah, from all your research projects, which one is the most meaningful or proudest? I don't know. So my research, the 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 I think this question is very objective and I think it would be the solution for the climate change. So now we know a lot about your interest as you and that professor, you really want, you 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 planned or they just have some problems. So how did you overcome those difficulties? And also, what did these experiences teach?

It takes a lot. Actually most of the projects we did were failed. That's normal because we are in the university. 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 50% prosperity, the project will fail, then we may think the project is not worthy to do, so it's not challenging. And we have to think, okay, this project is high risk. Then high risk means high novelty.

Another thing is that as a scientist we have to write grants and proposals for money and the government will fund our research. Or the university will fund our research. At the beginning we will write a proposal which looks very beautiful and we will check the grants from the government. There is a very high chance that the proposal cannot work.

Then we have to change to another idea and test the idea again. In 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. You have to repeat this process a lot of time.

And you make sure that you want to be a product designer. Actually, it also happens in companies. So you have to make the products very quick and then test the products in the market. And if the market doesn't like your idea, then you have to propose another one.

So that's the normal. Not like in the high school, you are going to start your project or start your subclass. and you have funding then in three or four months and then it's completed. But in the real life, this process, I don't think they 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? right yeah oh sorry i have a question like from the things you said like have you ever facing any like the biggest issue or the most challenging part from all your product you have done before have you ever faced any big challenge it's big challenge i have so when i go to this university in the big trend yeah i think there's also big change for your guys if you were going to move from one country to another country, and from one school to another school. So as you can see, you're going to feel exciting at the church at the same time. I work in the Chinese Academy of Science.

This is the top institute in China. And then I moved to this university, this is brand new. And so we don't know whether we are happy there, but we have to build this place by ourselves. We have a lot of freedom to do anything we want.

That's the good thing. But we don't have enough support at other Chinese institutes. So we have to fend that off by ourselves. I think the Chinese is a good thing because they are going to push you to do something right.

I have a final question. If there are high school students came to 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 them? Do you really think some high school students will ask this question?

Because I don't think the young people want to be some support guys in the future. You have your own idea. So I don't think that people should copy my pathway. So I don't think it can be copied by others.

You are going to have new ideas. And so, as we mentioned last time, you need to find something you are really interested in. So how do you find the things you are really interested in? Okay so actually the answer is talking to them that be yourself is the first step that you have to but how how can you know you are you so how how can you know that how so what in the things you really change it in so do you have anything you feel excited well i finished my like final project when i have a new assessment and I finished on the deadline and doing very successfully yeah and as you mentioned you want to be a product designer so if you are the designer for the cell phone from Apple company will you feel successful or excited when your idea was finally approved and still 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. So I really like doing the engineering research work and I like to, I'll try to make my own product, proper project and about the form holder, how to make like, how to make like, it's like more convenient like when you're using a mall and you want to like hold it and yeah if you're going to feel excited about that moment then maybe this is your future something that you should do in the future that gives me one to work in we are going to france and so what's the most important issue in france right now because actually when i'm going to brazil i'm hoping actually a lot of students and also professors and teachers from all around the world. Yeah. Because actually a huge part of them, they're not from China and I have to maybe speak to them by totally English and I have to know their cultures and I have to know a lot about the Brazil, the Qatar, the city.

So it's a really big chance for me to live in the city for almost a month and I have to adjust it 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 won't think that is the kind of the 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 diplomat 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 meetings in like a week, 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 will think that, oh, I'm better than myself yesterday. So I think this will give me some fascinating experience. I think there are very few Chinese students within Brazil that are going to be very happy to see some new face.

So if you go there, usually you will feel scared to talk to the professors. So 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 we, students like us, will also keep exploring the environmental engineering and also our subject in our future. Okay, yeah, you're welcome. 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 heat right now. So this year, in China it's okay, right? But you may remember last year the temperature was very high in China. So this is one very important symptom about the climate changing.

And the similar 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 heart the heart moment there but I don't know what happened in Brazil I didn't read the news maybe you can tell us later 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 your names on some newspaper Okay? I appreciate that.