Qian Xu’s character story

In Hangzhou, the surname "Qian" is a common surname, and "Qiantang River" was named after the surnames of its ancestors in ancient times. The origin of tutoring, "Qian's family motto", has become a part of Chinese culture.

In modern times, a number of talents have emerged from the Qian family in Hangzhou, including Qian Xuesen, the father of the two bombs, Qian Tianhe, Qian Ning, etc. Qian Xu grew up in troubled times and achieved success overseas.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Qian Xu moved with his family to the Shanghai Concession. "In the late period of the Anti-Japanese War, I could only eat one meal and one sweet potato every day." In 1949, during the turmoil, he flew to Taiwan with his family. After graduating from National Taiwan University, he went to the United States to study and became successful in the United States.

"The influence of family is too important for a person." Qian Xu's father Qian Siliang was the president of National Taiwan University, his brother Qian Chun was the "Minister of Finance" of Taiwan, and his younger brother Qian Fu was Ma Ying-jeou's teacher. "My father is my first role model in life." Qian Xu told reporters that he once wrote an article praising his father as a "perfect man." "My father is an educator. He is very strict and fair. He never does anything wrong."

In Qian Xu's eyes, his father is not a "strict father". He just sets an example and has high expectations for his children's ambitions. Nor interfere. The three brothers Qian Xu also studied in completely different fields. The elder brother Qian Chun was a talented person in economics; the younger brother Qian Fu was a well-known talent in foreign affairs.

Qian Xu also attaches great importance to the education of his children, but he still has "lenient" control. "I never 'hope for my children to succeed,' I just hope that my children will be happy." When talking about his two daughters, Mr. Qian showed a proud and joyful smile. One of them is an elite on Wall Street in the United States, and the other graduated from Yale University and is engaged in ophthalmology research. .

As an academician of the Fourth Academy of Sciences and devoted to scientific research, Qian Xu cannot devote too much time to his family. "But I try to make good use of the time I have with my family. This is called 'quality time' in English, which means to concentrate on it wholeheartedly and don't do other things."

Especially for children, "In Giving her 15 minutes when she needs it most is more meaningful than spending five hours on her later." Mr. Qian told a story: His daughter, who had already started a family, once said to him emotionally, "Dad, I used to do it. Every time I go to your study and ask if you have time to see you if I have something to do, you always say you have time. Now I know that it is because you care about me that you will put down what you are doing no matter how busy you are," Mr. Qian told reporters, "Respect. , care about the children, she will be grateful and cherish herself more." In late June 2006, after Qian Xu was awarded the certificate of academician of the "American Academy of Arts and Natural Sciences", he gathered the American Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Medicine, and the Academy of Arts and Natural Sciences. The reputation of "Academician of the Four Academies" is all in one. At that time, only six scientists had received this honor, and Qian Xu was the only Chinese. From the perspective of outsiders, achieving such an achievement must have gone through an extremely difficult journey. However, to the reporter's surprise, Qian Xu described the past decades as if "the boat has passed the Ten Thousand Mountains", "It's just like this. I am not a hard worker, I am a happy worker." ." Qian Xu said with a smile.

Qian Xu feels that, in fact, doing scientific research is the same as doing anything else. The most important thing is to be interested. Although he also admitted that scientific research is a "boring, monotonous, and poor" job, fortunately he "doesn't value money very much" and just needs enough. The "challenges and happiness" in the scientific research process are what guide him to the peak silently. In the process of exploring unknown areas, "one problem is overcome, another new problem appears, and the research becomes deeper and deeper." "The wider the field, the more new horizons we enter." This is Qian Xu's greatest happiness, and it also made him become an academician of the Fourth Academy of Sciences without knowing it.

After becoming an academician of the Fourth Academy of Sciences, Qian Xu’s life schedule as an academician still includes more time for scientific research and teaching than for administrative affairs. He said that he “dare not participate in too many academic committees”, just to have Spend more time in the lab. And if he were to take up the responsibility of the Academician Academic Review Committee, Qian Xu would still uphold justice with the "character of a scholar".

When conducting academic selections, Qian Xu will try his best to avoid his students. When he needs to recommend his own students according to the requirements, he does not base them on the students' own likes and dislikes. Instead, he recommends "the most suitable project for his development" based on the student's characteristics. If someone hopes to get a letter of recommendation from this academic heavyweight, it must be someone who he feels knows the basics and "has done projects with me."

When the reporter mentioned things like "academic fraud", the 79-year-old man's eyes were full of surprise. It seemed to him that this was something very difficult to believe and understand. Because he feels that "justice is an element that absolutely needs to exist." Before going to Taiwan, Qian Xu had not been to the "Great Wuhan" at that time due to social unrest. "It was very dangerous to travel at that time, and it was not as convenient as it is now."

Until 10 years ago. Qian Xucai set foot in Wuhan for the first time because of a lecture opportunity. This participation in the Optical Expo is his third time in Wuhan. As for this trip to Wuhan, Qian Xu's itinerary also includes visiting universities in Wuhan in the next few days.

Although he has not been formally associated with Wuhan for a long time, Qian Xu is very concerned about Wuhan: he was appointed as an honorary professor by Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology respectively, and even has an undergraduate student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Class "Qian Xu Class". He told reporters that if it is convenient, he hopes to teach students from these two schools at least once a year.

“Wuhan is making rapid progress and has world advantages in the field of optoelectronics.” Qian Xu is particularly concerned about the development of Wuhan East Lake National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone. At this Optics Expo, he actively supported the development of Optics Valley, believing that the most important thing in developing science and technology is to have high-end talents, and to collaborate between the government and the private sector to achieve the integration of industry, academia, and research.

With the rapid development of the country, more and more Chinese are returning to the country for development. "How to attract a group of outstanding overseas talents" is an important mission of Optics Valley.

As a good friend of Tian Changlin (a Chinese-American, an internationally renowned thermal physics scientist, the first Chinese and Asian president of a top American university, and the first foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), Qian Xu also joined the initiative of the sponsor Medium: Build the "Tian Changlin International Forum" into a platform for Sino-US exchanges in various fields such as economy, culture, education, etc., and hold it regularly every year; and use the influence of the forum to incorporate the "Tian Changlin Science Park" into the Wuhan Future Science and Technology City In the construction plan, high-end talents at home and abroad are invited to settle and start businesses to achieve a win-win situation. "In today's society, only when technology is good can the economy be good. South Korea and Japan have already been beneficiaries of this concept," Qian Xu said. Taiwan's experience in its economic boom in the 1980s is another example. "The times need scientific and technological leaders. There must be someone who can understand China's situation and see the future development of science and technology." Qian Xu raised his voice. "To develop science and technology, we must develop high technology, rather than copying in low-end fields. The optoelectronics industry is a very promising industry”! Although he lives abroad, Qian Xu is very concerned about the young people in China today. Every year when he returns to China, he must go to various universities to hold discussions with students. “Talking with students is also a learning process for me.”

Yesterday, at the "Tian Changlin Forum", two students from Wuhan University asked Qian Xu about the current education in China and the future of college students, and Qian Xu encouraged them with humorous words.

The first student to stand up asked a question with the mission of breaking the situation of "no young people asking questions", "I must ask a question on behalf of young people. Do you think Chinese college students are too passive?" "Don't like asking questions and discussing in class?" Qian Xu immediately smiled and said: "When I was in school in China, I always just listened to the teacher's lectures, and I only learned how to ask questions when I came to the United States. Now you have improved a lot. La!"

Another student questioned whether current college students lack thinking, and Mr. Qian responded with a "scientific" attitude, "I can't judge whether you have thought about it, but if you can ask this question, I I think you are already thinking about it.”

In his speeches at universities in Wuhan, Qian Xu repeatedly encouraged college students to have confidence in themselves. Chinese students are very smart and outstanding. The foundation is very solid, they are very hard-working and innovative, so many of them are very good.”

He also jokingly said that even the term IC is not popular in Silicon Valley. It turned into a pun, half Indian and half Chinese, which caused laughter in the audience.

Qian Xu said frankly that a good environment is the cradle for the growth of talents, and in the current world, only regions with "talents" can stand out. "Like Silicon Valley, Optics Valley can achieve great results if it can attract top talents, especially technology leaders."

As for the cultivation of students' personal accomplishments, Qian Xu believes that his "interdisciplinary" experience can actually Learn from.

"There is a connection between science and art, and basic subjects and professional subjects can also complement each other." He suggested that science and engineering students should also learn humanistic knowledge. Young people must cultivate their moral character. "Learning to be a talent first is fundamental." On September 27, US President Obama announced the list of seven US National Medal of Science recipients in 2011. Shu Chien, a Chinese biologist and professor at the University of California, San Diego, was on the list.

Qian Xu was born in Beijing and moved to Taiwan in 1949. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 1957 and has been working at the University of California, San Diego since 1991.

Also announced were five recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The awards ceremony will be held at the White House later this year.

The U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, established in 1959 and 1980 respectively, represent the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers, and inventors. On November 3, 2010, at the "Optical Expo" International Photonics and Optoelectronics Conference, the famous Chinese scientist Qian Xu used fluent English and meticulously gave a wonderful academic report to Chinese and foreign scholars. Qian Xu was born in Beijing in 1931. He is known as one of the most outstanding Chinese scientists in the world today because he wears six academician hats at home and abroad. Yesterday, when he was interviewed by reporters, he was worried about the plagiarism trend in domestic academic circles.

Qian Xu is not only an academician of the American Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Medicine, and the Academy of Arts and Natural Sciences, but also an academician of Taiwan's "Academia Sinica" and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There are a total of 6 academicians who are members of the "four major academies" in the United States, and only two are currently alive.

In 1976, Qian Xu became an academician of Taiwan's "Academia Sinica". If it weren't for his father Qian Siliang's "obstruction", he would have been elected two years ago. Qian Siliang was the director of Taiwan's Academia Sinica at the time. He called on the academicians not to vote for his son Qian Xu, citing limited quotas. "My father did this to avoid suspicion."

Qian Xu found it incomprehensible to the phenomenon of "canvassing votes" in the selection of domestic academicians. "In the United States, if you seek votes for academicians, others will not vote for you."

Qian Xu, who has worked on the front line of science in the United States for many years, has also heard about plagiarism in domestic academic circles. Yesterday, he used "sad" to describe his mood when he heard that domestic university presidents and professors had plagiarized. "Being upright and being a human being is the first priority." He said that plagiarism also occurs in the United States, but if it is verified, you will face severe punishment and "you will not be able to apply for a project within 5 years."

Qian Xu, 79, has thinning hair, but as an outstanding scientist and in good spirits, he is still active at the forefront of international academic circles. This time he returned to China alone. He gave a speech to college students a few days ago. He stood and spoke for an hour and a half. He said, "I feel that my current condition is better than when I was 50 years old."