Zhang Guixue: Strive for Original Aspiration with Diligence and Perseverance

Lately，Zhang Guixue, a postgraduate student of grade 2017 who majors in optical engineering, published a paper in Physical Review Applied. With daily ordinary perseverance, she is absorbed in the ocean of academics.
Under the guidance of her supervisor prof. Guo Xuguang, she worked together with Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences to finish her paper. She rushed from school to institute, day in and day out, in the past year or so. She got up at about 7:00 a.m. every morning and came back to school at about 7:00 p.m. It took over one hour on the everyday tour, covering 15 kilometres. From winter to spring, she witnessed Nordic grassland in the morning light and got familiar with Zhan’ en avenue. “Sometimes, so tired did I feel and I only wanted to take a good sleep in the dormitory. However, when those experimental data occurred to me, I had to step up my working paces”.
From the perspective of Zhang Guixue, persistence armed her with “secret weapons” to acquire ideal experimental results and enough data support. She sought for the breakthrough in repetitive experiments with patience. “After confirming structural parameters with my supervisor, I will do the simulation, make the device, and make the photolithography and coating in the experiments by myself.” What impressed her most was that she did not get the desired data and made little improvement after obtaining 4 experimental results when measuring semiconductor structure parameters. “No available ideal experimental results are also a part of experiments. Only with continuous thinking and adjustment and anther one try can experiments be successful.
In her paperwork, the guidance from Prof. Guo Xuguang is essential. “Just like I play badminton with my supervisor for several rounds, I rewrote the draft with my supervisor’s help, and I gradually made my thinking clearer,” said Zhang Guixue, “My supervisor was never tired of giving me a lot of help, and he gave me much advice of the modification of my paper.” “Terahertz” was the motivation for Zhang Guixue during her preparation for the graduate entrance examination. During undergraduate studies, she found her interest in scientific research and was determined to apply for USST, and her boyfriend embarked in the same way. They together reviewed and encouraged each other, and were finally admitted into the School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering. After entering USST, they never stopped their learning steps. They made progress together and wrote the chapter about the light at USST. Also, Yang Zhenxing was the first one who joined in the collaborative program and gave her a lot of help. “It was my senior who acquainted myself with the research institute where we need to work together for a long time. It was due to his help that I could quickly get familiar with the environment and make some preparations.”
Now, Zhang Guixue has grown into the model figure in the minds of junior schoolmates. She helps them adapt to the new environment and strives together for the original aspiration in scientific research.