During Tsinghua University's anniversary celebration, he became a hot topic. His academic title alone is enough to keep you hooked for a minute!

On the occasion of Tsinghua University's 113th anniversary, another major event was recorded in history - on April 26, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Mechanics and Engineering, which was established with the purpose of "serving the country's major strategic needs and deepening the cross-disciplinary integration", was officially unveiled. Along with this major initiative, another name was written into the list of major events - Gao Huajian.

Before he officially took charge of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Mechanics and Engineering, Gao Huajian's name had been associated with too many unimaginable honorary titles - he was not only a member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States, the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, and the Seventh Academy of the European Academy of Sciences, but he also served as a professor at Stanford University, the director of the Max-Planck Institute for Metal Materials in Germany, the Distinguished University Chair Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and a tenured professor at Brown University in the United States. It can be said that in the hearts of mechanics researchers, he is a god-like existence, but such a genius, a "national treasure" scholar with "extraordinary roots", has been carrying the infamy of controversy, doubts and even misunderstandings for more than 30 years.

Gao Huajian appointed Dean of Tsinghua University Institute of Engineering and Mechanics

The wise do not speak, the brave do not fear

In 1988, the public opinion was full of controversy. Anyone who paid a little attention to the scientific research community probably knew that in that year, Gao Huajian became an American citizen. For a time, negative comments such as "Why don't you use your wisdom to serve the motherland?" and "Are the scholars trained in China just to make contributions abroad?" were rampant. What's worse, there were also irrational insulting words such as "traitor" and "foreign-worshipping dog". The root cause was that his talent and achievements were too dazzling.

Born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 1963, Gao Huajian showed amazing scientific talent at an age when he should have been innocent and frolicking in the trees and swimming in the river. He not only taught himself high school courses, but also entered Xi'an Jiaotong University, one of the first batch of "211 Project" and "985 Project" universities in my country, with excellent grades at the age of 15 to study mechanical engineering. If you are familiar with "The Big Bang Theory", it is hard not to associate him with the genius Shelton.

This "Sichuan version of Sheldon" continued to demonstrate his extraordinary ability and amazing perseverance during his days of studying science and engineering in the capital of the "Golden Tang Dynasty". Not only did his professional performance far exceed that of his classmates who were several years older than him, but he also obtained the precious qualification to study for a master's degree at Harvard University when he graduated. But what the world and Gao Huajian did not expect was that the road to controversy began.

Gao Huajian

Gao Huajian received his master's degree at the age of 21 and completed his doctoral studies at the age of 25, becoming the youngest doctoral graduate in the history of Harvard University's engineering mechanics. When he stood on the podium of Stanford University, another world-class university in the United States, and "taught" his students, there was probably no student younger than him in the audience.

Under such a huge academic halo, countless people naturally place their expectations on his achievements and contributions. It can be said that from the day Gao Huajian became famous in the academic circle, his talent and wisdom were no longer considered to belong to him alone. Therefore, when news such as "child prodigy doctoral graduation", "becoming American citizenship", and "joining Stanford" came one after another, the misunderstanding and doubts in the domestic public opinion field were almost foreseeable, because Gao Huajian's "joining the United States" not only meant that my country would lose a gifted solid mechanics expert, but also meant that when scientific and technological development has not yet taken off, my country may once again fall off track with the world. When the controversial situation was the least optimistic, even his parents in China were affected.

But when the irrational enthusiasm gradually faded, as a wise man and academic expert, Gao Huajian knew very well what he was doing - only by reaching a high place can one enjoy the peak scenery. At that time, standing on the top international cutting-edge platform, he had no time to argue, nor was he afraid of challenges, because actions often speak louder than words, and time will give all the answers. What he did was to study hard and bury himself in the sea of ​​books for decades, and shine in the field of solid mechanics.

Solid Mechanics Symbolism

With three groundbreaking theoretical achievements, namely, the creation of strain gradient theory based on microscopic mechanisms and the development of simulation calculations of micro-nano plastic deformation mechanisms, the establishment of a theoretical mechanical system for nano-biostructures, and the creation of supersonic and hyperelastic dynamic fracture mechanics, Gao Huajian has firmly established his foothold in the international field of solid mechanics, leading the development paradigm of mechanics from multi-scale research from microscopic mechanisms to macroscopic phenomenology in the past 20 years. He has won the Rodney Hill Prize, the highest award in international solid mechanics, the Timoshenko Medal, the highest award in international applied mechanics, and the first ASME Medal for Young Scholars in Applied Mechanics from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (only one person receives this honor each year), becoming the only scientist to win the "Grand Slam" of three awards in the international mechanics field.

Moreover, at the age of 40, he successively served as the director of the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, and a tenured professor at Brown University in the United States, achieving academic heights and resource accumulation that are beyond the reach of others, and successfully crossed over to materials science, adding another wing to his scientific research career. However, doubts were not completely eliminated under the glory. Until 2012, everyone was surprised to find that this national treasure-level scientist had returned to China?

Leaves fall back to their roots, benefiting the next generation

Gao Huajian joins Tsinghua University full-time

It was not until January 2024, when he stood in front of the camera, that Gao Huajian frankly said that he had actually "long planned to return to China."

As early as 2012, he began to serve as the co-director of the Center for Advanced Mechanics and Materials of Tsinghua University, and has had many in-depth collaborations with Tsinghua University in the field of academic research over the years. "My collaboration with Tsinghua University has a long history, and my career development has benefited from the support of Tsinghua teachers and students along the way. Therefore, I have come to Tsinghua University many times, and I have always kept a hope in my heart, that is, one day I will return to my motherland, come to Tsinghua University to work, and create a better future with everyone. When I received the invitation this time, I really felt that something was different, and I had an indescribable excitement. I felt that all research and cooperation were about to enter a new stage." The new academic chapter in his words was exactly what attracted him to join the Tsinghua Institute of Engineering and Mechanics full-time.

Regarding Gao Huajian's achievements in solid mechanics, the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics has long said: "His (Gao Huajian) research results have laid the foundation and expanded the frontier of modern mechanics research." But when the applause and flowers came one after another, this master of modern mechanics had no time to care about other things. His mind was full of exploration and persistence in interdisciplinary studies. This is also the fundamental reason why Gao Huajian's research later spanned multiple fields such as mechanics, materials, machinery, and bionics.

"Interdisciplinary exploration cannot be separated from comprehensive talents." This is Gao Huajian's obsession, and it is also what he does and says every day. According to incomplete statistics, in the decades when he quietly started his career in educating people in the United States, he trained 35 doctoral students and more than 100 master's students, and guided 37 postdoctoral fellows. Among them, 1 was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 was elected as an academician of the American Academy of Engineering, 7 received support from the National Outstanding Youth Fund Project, and more than 20 people successively became academic leaders and business backbones of my country's universities and research institutes. The most representative one is Wang Xiang, the chief designer of "Tiangong-2", who mastered the docking technology of "Tiangong-1" and "Shenzhou-8".

For more than 30 years, this leader in the field of solid mechanics has demonstrated his patriotic heart through his persistent work. While we admire his height, we should also be in awe and enthusiasm, and welcome every student who has gone abroad to see the world to return home.