Proposing with a concrete ring, who says tech guys don't understand romance

Who says tech guys don’t understand romance?

Recently, an extraordinary romantic proposal story was published on major media websites and attracted attention: at the Tsinghua University Qihang Award ceremony, Yao Guoyou, a doctoral student in the Department of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, successfully proposed to his beloved with a "magic water" concrete ring that he developed himself.

Although the ring looks plain, it contains Yao Guoyou's innovative achievements in the field of concrete protection. It is not only a token of love, but also a crystallization of wisdom. Because it is similar to the "magic water" used by his lover to dress up, this male doctor of science and engineering also gave it a name - concrete "magic water".

The ring is engraved with "YY Yulu You Ni", "Yu" and "You" are taken from the names of the two people. "Just like our love, it will not corrode or deteriorate in 100 years." This confession moved the audience. Netizens exclaimed "Top romance!"

From "leaky roof" to "watertight"

Don't underestimate this ring!

It actually uses a new waterproof material developed by Yao Guoyou's team. This material can promote China's waterproof materials into the "self-healing waterproof era". The results have been applied to major projects such as the concrete protection of the main stadium of the Winter Olympics, the concrete reinforcement of the Geku Railway, the renovation and protection of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, and the crack repair of the Yantai Port.

Tracing back to its source, the inspiration for this material comes from Yao Guoyou's daily life.

In the academic hall of Tsinghua University, Yao Guoyou also faced the problem of how to choose the topic of his graduation thesis. During that period of self-doubt and loss, a project by chance helped him find the direction of scientific research - when the Guangdong Provincial Water Resources and Hydropower Survey and Design Institute was looking for a solution to the invasive biological mussel, Yao Guoyou's mentor Professor An Xuehui took over the relevant project. Yao Guoyou also began his wonderful research journey on freshwater mussels. However, he did not expect at that time that this tiny creature would be the protagonist of his doctoral thesis.

In Guangzhou, in order to find a material to deal with this rampant and highly influential invasive organism, Yao Guoyou came into contact with a variety of coatings, repeatedly tested them to see the effects, and tried to improve the performance of the materials to deal with this inconspicuous little organism. With more research, the content of the paper was finalized and gradually enriched.

Life is full of opportunities. During his doctoral and postdoctoral studies at Tsinghua University, Yao Guoyou rented an old building. A heavy rain made him deeply understand the helplessness and sadness of Du Fu's "The bedside is leaking, and the rain is falling like hemp." Others may forget about it after sighing, but Yao Guoyou is not like that! He studied concrete and often had to face the problem of water leakage. Why is the problem of water leakage always inevitable? For him, this is a mockery and an encouragement, which encourages him to really think about how to solve the problem of concrete leakage.

Combining his years of experience in solving freshwater mussel problems, an inorganic silicon material brought back by Mr. An from Japan caught his attention. This material not only has strong permeability, but also can effectively improve the protective and maintenance performance of concrete, including density, waterproofness, impermeability, and resistance to chloride ions. A bold idea flashed through Yao Guoyou's mind: If this material can be widely used in concrete buildings in my country, then millions of "watertight" buildings will no longer be an unattainable dream. But this Japanese material is very expensive. Can it be localized to significantly reduce the price while improving performance? The vast market space ignited the spark of scientific research and entrepreneurship in Yao Guoyou's heart.

From a “lone hero” in the laboratory to a leader in concrete protection innovation

Dreams bring motivation. With his dream in his arms, Yao Guoyou embarked on the journey of scientific research, but it is not always easy to take the first step. During the days of scientific research, he was almost isolated from the world, accompanied by cement blocks in the laboratory, experimenting with proportions, spraying coatings, drying and curing, observing and recording, and comparative analysis... He conducted boring experiments day after day. Faced with failures again and again, he also felt helpless and confused, and even had the idea of ​​giving up. It was the continuous support and encouragement of his mentor and lover that gave him the motivation to persevere. Through continuous attempts and improvements, Yao Guoyou finally developed nanosilicate materials. The research and development materials were sent to a third-party professional organization for testing, and the results showed that the data was better than similar imported products. This gave Yao Guoyou great confidence.

In 2016, Yao Guoyou was working on the construction of a cast-in-place integrated pipeline corridor in Haikou City.

In 2017, Yao Guoyou established a new material company in Suzhou and started the road of market promotion. At first, the company had only 5 people, but the team members were present in major engineering projects and civil projects, from water conservancy projects such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and Xiangjiaba Project, to urban projects such as the Haikou Integrated Pipeline Corridor, Nanjing Integrated Pipeline Corridor and Shenzhen Metro... In 2018, after learning that the villagers of the ethnic village in Linfeng Town, Guangxi could not afford the waterproof materials on the market due to price issues, Yao Guoyou donated the waterproof materials he developed to the local area for free, and arranged for staff to teach the spraying method on site, which effectively alleviated the leakage problem of the villagers' houses. "Gold and silver cups are not as good as the reputation of the people. I used my professional knowledge and technology to help people solve practical problems and was recognized. This is the time when I feel most valuable." Yao Guoyou is full of pride.

Today, the company has entered a golden period of development - winning angel round investment, the team continues to expand; participating in various competitions and winning multiple honors; starting from the waterproofing field, gradually expanding to the field of all-round concrete protection; holding a concrete protection technology summit forum and promoting the establishment of a scientific and technological research institute. While the six major areas of the concrete protection market are fully open, Yao Guoyou and his team are steadily moving towards a new journey.

"God rewards hard work, and only by accumulating strength can one achieve success. Science and technology come first, and we must proceed steadily and achieve long-term success. In the field of concrete protection, I admire the spirit of Forrest Gump, and hope that by running continuously, I can spray the 'magic water' of concrete on every piece of concrete in the motherland." Becoming a "good doctor of construction" is Yao Guoyou's goal, and running like Forrest Gump is the source of his path to get closer to his goal.