I received my B.S. degree in chemistry from Nankai University in 2015. Afterwards, I was admitted to the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, as a PhD candidate. I earned my PhD degree in inorganic chemistry in 2020. Within that period, I was sponsored by China Scholarship Council (CSC) as a joint PhD student to carry out my research work in University of Technology Sydney in Australia for two years. I joined BIPH in August in 2020. As a young teacher, I am serving as a learning expert teacher (LET) to help off-site chemistry teachers organize their classes in BIPH.
I became interested in chemistry when I was in high school. In the process of learning, I was not only fascinated by the colorful chemical reactions, but also impressed by how useful this subject was to help us better understand numerous aspects of the world. As a result, I chose chemistry as my college major.
When I was in college, my favorite thing about my major was that we had classes for chemical experiments every semester. In these classes, I not only received systematic training on how to use some advanced instruments, but more importantly I was able to conduct some exploratory experiments under the guidance of teachers. During that time I found my interest in material chemistry and nanoscience, which eventually became the research focus in my PhD thesis. As for my least favorite thing, to be honest, I did not like the lengthy lab reports after each experiment because I had to strictly follow the fixed format and write down all the details and analyses while doing the experiments. However, it indeed helped me cultivate a scientific and rigorous attitude towards work and study, and I appreciate it now.
When I chose chemistry as my major, I expected myself to work in some fields related to chemistry, such as a researcher in university or institute, or a chemistry teacher. After I received my PhD degree, I started my career as a teacher in BIPH. Considering my interest in education, there is not a great disparity between my expectations and my current job.
If I were given another opportunity, I would definitely choose chemistry again due to my strong interest in this subject. However, I might change my research focus from the luminescent properties of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles to some fields which are more closely related to our daily life, such as solar cells, catalysis, etc. If I had to choose a different major, I would choose computer science. The information technology has brought dramatic changes to numerous aspects of our life, and I expect to step into this booming field.
Chemistry is a subject based on experiments. If you want to choose chemistry as your major, you are going to systematically learn about the foundational concepts, principles and basic experimental skills for all the secondary subjects in chemistry, such as inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, etc., where you may find your interest. If you continue to pursue a master’s degree or doctoral degree in chemistry, you will be able to explore the frontiers of chemistry with the help of your supervisor and collaborators, and you may even become one of the top researchers in a specific field in the world. Furthermore, as a central subject, chemistry is closely related to other majors such as material science, environmental science, pharmacy, etc. These majors can also be your choice if you are interested.