Developing new quality productivity - "her power" in new technology

Putting on a white work suit and a mask, 49-year-old Yi Yongqing walked into a familiar laboratory and worked there for six or seven hours. In her eyes, the laboratory is her "battlefield where she sweats" and also "a land where she bears fruit."

Yi Yongqing is the deputy director of the Special Optical Fiber Materials R&D Center of the 46th Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation. For more than 20 years after graduating from university, she has been engaged in the R&D and production of special optical fibers, rooted in the front line of scientific research.

"Perhaps in the eyes of many people, scientific research is more 'high-end', but our research on basic materials is sometimes boring and dangerous." Yi Yongqing said that in the process of preparing optical fibers, we often have to deal with high concentrations of toxic and harmful chemical reagents; when preparing preform rods at a high temperature of more than 2,000 degrees Celsius, we need to open the glass cover door frequently to observe the test process closely...

Yi Yongqing is testing optical fiber. Xinhua News Agency

50 watts, 100 watts... until 2017, Yi Yongqing led his team to develop the first single-fiber 10,000-watt laser fiber, breaking through the core technical difficulties. Yi Yongqing said proudly: "Nowadays, the power of domestic laser fibers has reached a higher level, and the cost has been significantly reduced. We have currently developed dozens of special fiber products and achieved results transformation. The fiber we sell each year is as long as 15,000 kilometers."

"Perseverance" is Yi Yongqing's "magic weapon" in scientific research. In her opinion, female science and technology workers have their own unique advantages in details, endurance, and sensitivity.

Sun Yuanxia, ​​a researcher at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, feels the same way. For 25 years, she has been working on the front line of sugar engineering research. She is engaged in "sweet research" and speaks sweetly. In Sun Yuanxia's team, more than 60% of the researchers are women.

Sun Yuanxia shows sugar in the laboratory. Xinhua News Agency

"Scarce sugars are generally low in calories and have a low glycemic index, making them ideal sugars for obese and diabetic people. They are of great significance for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, but the reserves of rare sugars in nature are very low and difficult to extract." In recent years, Sun Yuanxia has led her team to establish a sugar bioengineering research platform specializing in the biotransformation and synthesis of rare sugars, which has promoted the development of the functional rare sugar industry and achieved the transformation of more than ten invention patents.

In 2023, Sun Yuanxia's team also achieved the precise full synthesis of carbon dioxide into sugar, which attracted attention from all walks of life. Sun Yuanxia said: "Compared with the traditional method of extracting sugar by planting crops such as sugarcane, carbon dioxide synthesis of sugar does not require too much reliance on resources such as land and water, and the time required to obtain sugar has also been reduced from 'years' to 'hours'."

Scientific research achievements are inseparable from hard work. Doing experiments, holding group meetings, striving for scientific research projects, conducting enterprise research, correcting and guiding students' papers... Sun Yuanxia's day is always packed with activities. In her opinion, seriousness and patience are essential qualities for scientific researchers.

Song Xueying (left) is checking the process and equipment. Xinhua News Agency

Song Xueying, 36, is the president of Tianjin Huahuixin Technology Group Co., Ltd. Her company is mainly engaged in the manufacturing and service of micro-nano optoelectronic chips, and its products are widely used in many fields such as autonomous driving and augmented reality. As a business manager, Song Xueying has been "escorting" the company's scientific and technological research and development.

Song Xueying has been in the chip industry for nearly seven years. "Our project team has provided customized chip processing and process development services to more than 500 scientific research teams and enterprises. Only with strong technology and the courage to innovate can we cope with changes in the market and the times," said Song Xueying.

In 2022, she also led the establishment of the "Song Xueying Model Worker and Craftsman Talent Innovation Studio", and trained a group of scientific and technological innovation talents, including many women.

"The development of new quality productivity requires us to dare to innovate and use science and technology to promote social development. There are many women around me who are actively learning new technologies, getting in touch with new things, and stimulating innovation and creativity. 'Her power' plays an important role in promoting the development of new quality productivity." Song Xueying said.

Planning: Yu Weiya, Shao Xiangyun, Cao Xiaoxuan

Reporter: Li Yating, Xu Siyu