It was September 10th, the 28th Teachers' day. The Meeting Room 230 in the Polymer Building witnessed a heated but harmonious face-to-face communication fair, attended by our renowned Prof. Kangjie Zhu, who, though more than 70 years old, is very popular and instructive among students. The topic of the discussion was carrying on and forward the long-cherished tradition of our department—the never satiated pursuit of truth. By talking with a polymer science encyclopedia like Prof. Zhu, everyone presented gained a thorough understanding concerning the history of our department, therefore strengthening the sense of belonging to the family of polymer science and engineering.Qinwen Wang, Vice Dean of DPSE and Gaohe Wang, director in DPSE office were also invited. The participating students included undergraduate students from Class of 2009 and Class of 2010 and graduate students from the DPSE.
The whole meeting was conducted like this:
First, the host detailedly introduced professor's life experience and major academic accomplishments, and, as the representative for the whole student body, delivered our gratitude to professor with blooming flowers and delicately-handmade wishing cards. Prof. Zhu then informed us of the origin of Teacher's Day in China, stating the transformation of attitude on the societal level towards the intellectual class—from scornful suppression, when the PRC was newly founded, to positive encouragement and acknowledgement, under the guidance of the "Reform and Opening" policy.
Next, he recounted the ups and downs of our department in the course of different time, ranging from the Domestic War of Liberation to the early 21st century, and recalled the stories of many distinguished polymer scientists of the old generation like Prof. Baoren Wang, Prof. Renyuan Qian, Prof. Xinde Feng, Prof. Shilin Yang, Prof. Tongyin Yu along with the imported oversea experts, for instance Prof. Zhiquan Shen. He felt relieved seeing the burgeoning of the department, which sprang from a single polymer science institution in the early 1990s , developed into today's academy with three well-founded branches absorbing top staff and students every year, excelling at both education and research abilities in the domestic scope. However, he emphasized that there still exists long distance between us and the avant-garde institutions and universities internationally. Urging us to exert ourselves and contribute to our department in the future, the dear professor gave some practical advice conveying the necessity of cultivating good habits in study and college life.
The students were all struck by Prof. Zhu's words, determined to modestly and open-mindly learn from science masters like Prof. Shilin Yang, Prof. Zhiquan Shen, and Prof. Jiachong Shen and live up to the expectation given both by their teachers and themselves.
(by Alley) |
