"In the wild, I think of myself as a man"! In the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is such a "her" force

Author: Chen Huanhuan

Cai Yuanpei once said in a speech: "In scientific inventions and contributions to literature and art, some women are not inferior to men."

There are several such heroines in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

On March 7, the Women's Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Women's Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Trade Union held a report meeting and commendation meeting for advanced deeds of caring about "national affairs" and shouldering "national responsibilities".

Four female scientist representatives, Di Qingyun, Pan Xiu Lian, Sun Liwei and Zhang Xiangping, told their scientific research stories of "researching whatever the country needs".

Adhere to and innovate responsibility and commitment

For researchers, the research direction is very important. Should we choose something interesting or something important?

my country is short of resources and energy and highly dependent on foreign countries, but only one-third of its mineral resources have been discovered. Where are the remaining two-thirds? Can they be detected? This is a topic that Di Qingyun, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team have been studying for more than 20 years.

Di Qingyun said that my country's geological structure is complex, with most of the mines being hidden and deep.

However, due to the limitations of detection technology, the exploration depth of mineral resources in my country is only about one thousand meters, while the exploration depth of major mining exploration countries exceeds 2,000 meters.

The biggest obstacle on the road to advancing deeper into the interior is that large-scale detection equipment is almost entirely dependent on imports, and core components such as high-end sensors are under embargo.

"I was thinking, when can I use the equipment I developed myself?" To achieve this goal, Di Qingyun and others worked continuously for more than 10 years to overcome the key technologies of ground electromagnetic detection equipment, allowing the Chinese people to use the equipment independently developed.

"Taking the country's major needs as one's own responsibility is the original intention and mission of a Communist Party member, and it is also the responsibility and obligation of a scientific and technological worker," said Di Qingyun.

Pan Xiu Lian, a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has also chosen a scientific research path that is closely related to national needs.

In 2003, she returned from abroad and joined the team of Academician Bao Xinhe, and since then she has started a new scientific research direction closely related to national energy - confined catalysis, synthesis gas conversion, methane activation and conversion, etc.

Low-carbon olefins such as ethylene and propylene are the cornerstones of the modern chemical industry. Water cups, plastic wrap, straws, etc. in our daily lives are all produced using olefins as raw materials.

However, the traditional production technology of olefins is strongly dependent on petroleum resources, and my country is "short of oil and gas". Directly producing low-carbon olefins from coal through synthesis gas is a major topic in Pan Xiulian's scientific research career.

Pan Xiulian started exploring in 2007, and has experienced failures, detours, and hardships. She said: "There is no shortcut in scientific research, only hard work."

Finally, through continuous innovation, the team achieved a breakthrough in 2016, overturning the traditional route of coal chemical industry that had been used for more than 90 years and pioneering the technology of "direct production of low-carbon olefins from synthesis gas".

As one of the important contents, this research won the first prize of the National Natural Science Award in 2020.

After collective efforts, this technology has successfully completed a full-process industrial trial at the thousand-ton level, creating a new technical route for clean coal conversion with low water consumption and high selectivity.

"Persistence is a responsibility and also a commitment. We are the 'national team' and 'national people', and we hope to continue to make our own contribution to the country's implementation of the 'dual carbon' concept in this field." Pan Xiu Lian said.

Caring about "national affairs" is a belief

When doing field surveys, we had to climb mountains, go down ditches, and wade through water. When we went to uninhabited areas for surveys, we had to bring a few biscuits and run from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. At night, when there was no condition to set up a tent alone, we had to share one with male comrades and fall asleep to the howling of wolves...

Over the years, Di Qingyun has insisted on working on the front line: going deep into mines, sticking to the plateau, climbing snow-capped mountains, and wading through dangerous rapids. She said, "In the wild, I treat myself as a man."

"My scientific research goal is to contribute to the world's forefront of deep resource exploration technology. If I can do this well throughout my life, I will have a clear conscience," said Di Qingyun.

At the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there are also many women among the members of the high-orbit infrared detection team of the Engineering Room 3.

There are 34 women in this team, accounting for 62%. There are 6 women in positions above deputy chief designer, covering all key links.

Sun Liwei, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that for more than 20 years, this team has been aiming at the commanding heights of international competition and has carried out the development of the payload of my country's second-generation geostationary meteorological satellite Fengyun-4, becoming the first in the world to achieve three-dimensional perception of atmospheric sounding.

The main payload of Fengyun-4B has even started the minute-level observation mode, which has improved the accuracy and refinement of my country's weather forecasts.

In addition, the high-precision solar sensors they developed have also made important contributions to the autonomous control of Beidou satellites.

Aerospace engineering is difficult and intensive. During the years of research and development, some people left due to the heavy workload, while others gritted their teeth and took over to complete double the workload.

At the same time, according to the requirements of the Beidou project, the solar sensor must be miniaturized and have a long life - reducing its own weight by more than 60% and extending its life by 3 times.

There was only one option left for the team - to take a gamble by adopting a completely new technical approach.

Sun Liwei recalled that in the face of huge difficulties, everyone kept trying over and over again and never got tired of it. After a period of hard exploration, they finally met the project requirements and took a step forward in technology.

Another time, Zhu Yu, deputy chief designer of the scanning mechanism control, broke his ankle. This was the critical stage of the prototype debugging of FY-4-02 satellite.

So, a busy figure in a wheelchair appeared in the laboratory. Colleagues helped to prepare lunch, and someone pushed the cart between buildings. In this way, "with love and pain", they ensured that the products were shipped on time.

"We have all faced tremendous pressure, as if we were hanging on a cliff, and we didn't know how much strength we would need to climb up. At this time, doing great things for the country is the belief that supports us to persevere," said Sun Liwei.

Regrets but not regrets, passion is the key to success

These female scientific researchers are at the forefront of their work, and they cannot help but feel guilty when playing the roles of daughters, wives and mothers.

"Although we have to squeeze out time to spend with our family, as the saying goes, 'essence is often concentrated.'" Sun Liwei said that because the meteorological satellite she developed was launched into space, her parents paid close attention to the weather forecast and attributed all the credit to their daughter. The children of the team members would also "show off" in kindergarten that their mothers' job is to be "stars in the sky", which made them very proud.

Sun Liwei said: "Although we feel sorry, we don't regret it. This is our unique way of education and filial piety."

Zhang Xiangping, a researcher at the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also shared stories between himself and his children.

"When my son was young, I asked him if he wanted to do scientific research when he grew up. He said no, it was too tiring because his mother was still working in the middle of the night. After he went to college, he did homework until very late. I asked him if he was tired, and he said casually, 'Aren't you the same? What's there to be tired of?'"

This made her sigh: parents are indeed the best teachers for their children.

Zhang Xiangping's research direction is green chemistry and chemical engineering. The team has innovatively designed a series of new green solvents, which have been successfully used in industrial projects such as carbon dioxide capture, conversion and utilization, and ammonia recovery.

Each technology has gone through nearly 10 years of persistence, from small-scale trials to pilot tests and then to industrialization.

For example, the completion of the world's first ionic liquid ammonia separation and recovery device not only solved the bottleneck problem of production suspension faced by enterprises due to environmental issues, but also enabled the recycling of ammonia resources, turning waste into treasure.

This technology has also enabled ionic liquids, a new medium, to move from the laboratory to the main battlefield of the national economy for large-scale application.

"What will I do? What should I do? These are questions I have been thinking about. In fact, the answer is very simple, that is, to care about national affairs and bravely shoulder national responsibilities. We must focus on the country's dual carbon goals and develop green and transformative low-carbon technologies through original innovation of solvents and materials." Zhang Xiangping said.

In response to the "scissors gap" phenomenon in which the proportion of female scientific and technological personnel decreases as one moves towards the top of the ivory tower, Zhang Xiangping called on female scientific researchers to be confident, self-reliant and overcome themselves.

She talked about the project team of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which she led, had trained many outstanding female scientific and technological talents, and the number of winners of various scientific and technological awards and talent awards was like "a touch of green among a sea of ​​flowers", with 13 of the 14 awards going to women.

She believes that being attentive, serious, resilient and tolerant are the advantages of women in scientific research. Only by following your inner passion for scientific research can you have an unlimited scientific research life.

China Science Daily (2022-03-11 Page 1 News original title: "This "She" Force Takes National Needs as Its Own Mission")

Editor | Zhao Lu

Typesetting | Guo Gang