Nobel laureate Steven Chu tells “Why Choose STEM” at SUSTech Lecture

Guest Lecture

| 10/17/2016

On October 16, 2016, Prof. Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate in physics, visited Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), sharing his thought and experience as to “Why Choose Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)” with SUSTech’s teachers and students at SUSTech Lecture.

In 1997, Chu was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for “inventing the method of using laser to cool and trap atoms”. He served as Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) from 2004 to 2008 and the 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2009 to 2013, and is currently a professor of physics at Stanford University. He is also the fourth Nobel Laureate who visited SUSTech this year after Chen Ning Yang, a Nobel laureate in physics in 1957; Robert H. Grubbs, a Nobel laureate in chemistry in 2005; and Anthony James Leggett, a Nobel laureate in physics in 2003.

Lecture scene

Though it was Sunday, the lecture hall of SUSTech was fully packed. Teachers and students of SUSTech, students from some key high schools in Shenzhen, as well as others attracted by Chu’s fame attended the lecture in excitement.

President Chen Shiyi delivers an address

As the moderator of the much-anticipated 86th session of SUSTech Lecture, Chen Shiyi, President of SUSTech, expressed his warm welcome to Chu and his wife. “Today is a special day today because we have Prof. Steven Chu here, but yesterday was even more special, as it was on October 15 when Prof. Chu was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics 19 years ago,” he said, arousing bursts of applause.

Prof. Steven Chu

[Learning Career–The winning of the Nobel Prize puts me on an equal footing with my family members]

Chu began his lecture with some photos taken many years ago. From his grandfather to his father’s generation and to his elder brothers, all his family members hold high degrees, such as a PhD degree from Harvard University and a PhD degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“Can you image such a family? I’m the only one who was never educated at Harvard University or MIT in my family,” he joked.

Showing his photos from kindergarten to youth, Chu said with humor, “As I got older, I became outstanding gradually. I was admitted by the University of California, Berkeley for a PhD degree at the age of 25 and then by Stanford University when I was 39, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics ten years later. So I think that I could academically put myself on an equal footing with my brothers eventually.”

[STEM Education-Education teaching you how to learn is the best]

Following his education experience, Chu expounded the importance of STEM education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and STEM education means the education in these disciplines. In recent years, the US Government has strongly encouraged students to choose STEM education to improve their qualities in science and technology and innovation.

“STEM education is a kind of education that guides you how to learn by yourself,” said Chu who pointed out the advantage of STEM education, Self-education is very important during personal development. And STEM learning allows people to arm themselves with an ability to think logically, and an ability to grope and seek confirmation like learning mathematics, and to have strong knowledge. It gives you enough confidence to be at the forefront of the field where we are, even leap to a new domain we have never been set foot in before.

“You would never say that you can’t just for lack of adequate knowledge, which is the most important point of STEM education,” Chu stressed in his conclusion.

[Research Career-Strive to be the first to “uncover the rock”]

When being asked how to do research, Chu first introduced his research experience at the Berkeley’s Lab. At the beginning of his research, he did not find his research direction quickly, but fixed it after three adjustments.

“You don’t have to worry about when the research direction has not been determined at first, but you should always keep your eyes on discovering new opportunities and understand what exactly the field where opportunities emerge is.” He encouraged students to be the first to “uncover the rock”, because “only in this way is it possible for you to discover many new things.”

Apart from his own experience, Chu also introduced the research course of other members at the Bell Labs where he worked, enlightening the students present with the knowledge of how research findings emerge to help win the Nobel Prize.

[Discover and Innovation-Make a quick decision and do not set a limit for yourself]

For the last part of his lecture, Chu spoke of innovation by citing the cases of Ford strongly reducing costs to win the market in the end and the Silicon Valley bringing together elites from each discipline. He pointed out that as soon as a new opportunity is discovered, one should be fast, strong and precise. Only making a decision as soon as possible can bring about the most effective innovation.

Chu also mentioned that you should not set a limit on yourself, especially in innovation. First, never let failure hinder your steps ahead. “Failure can be a choice, but you need to reset your goal as soon as possible after failure or fail fast.” Second, never let “sticking to what you think” restrict yourself. “You should be willing to accept and develop others’ ideas instead of limiting your idea because of what you think.”

Q&A session

Chu’s lecture was witty and thought-provoking, during which the students present interacted with him. He answered all the questions from the students in detail from the puzzle about cross-discipline learning and research to how to select future PhD research projects, as well as what made him transfer from physics to energy and environment. President Chen Shiyi also asked a question, “Can we cultivate throngs of outstanding talents as the Bell Labs did?” Chu gave a positive answer, saying, “Compared to the USA pursuing quick high profits, China has a more foresighted plan and a longer-term view, so you are sure to achieve this goal.”