Zou Guangtian: Looking at the National Superhard Materials Laboratory

Academician Zou Guangtian: I grew up under the training of Jilin University. It can also be said that it is a native of Ji Da. Since my student days, I have been studying and working for 56 years on the campus of Jida.

As a 75-year-old man, I shouldn’t talk about any great ideals and grand blueprints. But I have deep feelings for Jilin University. I really feel that I have not finished some things. I hope I can continue to do so. I also hope that my colleagues. And the students continue to do it. In this sense, I still have expectations and dreams. This dream is that I hope that I will have the opportunity to do more for Jilin University and contribute more to the revitalization and development of Jilin University.

Specifically, I hope to make my subject, high-pressure physics, a beautiful business card for Jilin University. Let the academic circles at home and abroad mention the high-pressure physics and think of Jilin University. To be more specific, I hope that the State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, which I and my colleagues have established, can be better and better, and can be a world-class research center and talent training base, capable of high-pressure physics and super-hard materials. In the field, we will produce first-class scientific research results and first-class talents. The mission of history to the high-pressure scientists is to be at the forefront of the world's high-pressure science, that is, to innovate, to explore the unknown, to reveal the microstructural changes of matter under extreme conditions such as high pressure, and the strange phenomena that only appear under high pressure. The nature, in turn, creates new and new materials that have not appeared under normal pressure conditions. This is what is often said to be "top heaven." Another purpose of scientific research is to meet the country's major needs, including the major needs of national security and the actual needs of the national economy. This is often referred to as the "site." I look forward to our National Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials not only "top" but also "site". I hope that I can make a difference in these two aspects and have an important impact on the international community.

Realizing my dreams is like building a house. It needs a solid foundation. Otherwise, it is just thinking about it. It is a fantasy and a daydream. My dream is based on the current state of our laboratory development. In recent years, the development of the State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials has been very good, and it has taken a big step toward the goal of “Dingtian” and “Foundation”. We have been developing our own experimental techniques and experimental methods for a long time, and we have seen the results. A number of advanced equipment for high pressure generation and in situ measurement have been established. At the same time, the theoretical methods for predicting the structure and properties of materials under high pressure have been developed, and large-scale calculation procedures have been prepared. In the past five years, he has published articles in "Nature" or "Sci-ence" almost every year, and published a number of articles in top journals such as the American Physical Review Letter. A job was selected for the top ten news of the 2010 National Basic Research. Some work has also been well received by international counterparts. The experimental methods and calculation procedures we have developed are also used by some domestic and foreign counterparts. These have laid a solid material foundation for the realization of my "top heaven" dream, and made a fortune to climb higher peaks. One of the most successful applications of high pressure research in China is to synthesize synthetic diamond under high temperature and high pressure, and to get out of the laboratory and realize industrialization. Diamond is a "extreme material" that combines ultra-hard, high thermal conductivity, radiation resistance, excellent semiconductor performance and chemical inertness. It has a wide range of important applications in all fields of modern industry. Now the production of synthetic diamond in our country has exceeded 1 billion carats in 1991 to 10 billion carats in 2011, and it has jumped to become the world's largest producer in the world, accounting for more than 90% of the world's total production. A large number of ultra-hard materials tools and products companies have emerged. The development of the superhard materials industry has brought new opportunities and challenges to our national key laboratories for superhard materials. We have concentrated on important scientific issues and systematic research in the common and key technical problems of the industry. China's superhard materials industry has made important contributions to its development and has also developed itself in practice. These constitute the material basis for realizing my "site" dream.

The most important guarantee for realizing my dream is that our laboratory has established an excellent research team with young and middle-aged people as the main body. They are self-motivated, active in academic thinking, innovative, capable, and good at unity and cooperation. They have the perseverance of iron and needles and the courage to sit on the bench. Among them are thousands of outstanding candidates, Jieqing, Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor, 973 Chief Scientist, and other outstanding young and middle-aged scientists. Some of them are employed in international and domestic academic circles, and are attracted by international peers. A group of young people are in academics. The world is on the verge. Our laboratory also has a relaxed, harmonious, democratic, and rigorous academic atmosphere that provides a hotbed of innovative thinking for fulfilling my dreams. The most important thing is that this team and I have a common dream. My dream has become our dream. We are working hard to realize this dream. This is also the root cause of my confidence.

There is still a long way to go to realize my dreams. I am soberly aware that we are only doing good work in individual fields and have not yet been at the forefront of the world in most areas of high-pressure physics. How to develop China from a superhard material country to a superhard material power is not an easy task. It still takes time and effort.

Cao Cao has a famous poem: "The old sorrowful sorrow, the ambition is thousands of miles; the martyrs are young, the heart is strong." I hope to use this sentence to constantly spur myself. I also hope that teachers and classmates can cherish the opportunities of service and study at Jilin University and contribute to the development and revitalization of Jilin University. My biggest dream is to hope that students will surpass Mr. In this way, the school has an inexhaustible development momentum, thriving and eternal youth.