In October 2020, the Qiushi Science and Technology Foundation announced the winners of the Qiushi Outstanding Young Scholar Award. Associate Professor Zhenzhong ZENG of the School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) was one of the winners. The award was established in 1995 to reward outstanding young researchers in the field of basic research in Mainland China.

Zhenzhong ZENG received his bachelor’s degree from the National Sun Yat-sen University in 2011, a doctorate in physical geography from Peking University in 2016, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University from 2016 to 2019. He joined SUSTech in 2019 as an associate professor at ESE, teaching courses on global climate change and ecoclimatology.

Professor ZENG is mainly engaged in ecological hydrology, land-gas interaction, global environmental change, earth system simulation, and other related fields. He has published a total of 55 SCI papers and 16 research papers in highly reputable journals including Science, Nature Climate Change, Nature Geoscience, and Nature Sustainability, with more than 4,000 citations as of September 2020.

Keep calm, stay curious

After taking the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) as a high school student, Dr. ZENG wanted to major in mathematics, but he got into geography instead. In the beginning, his first thought was how to change his major as he wasn’t enjoying it. But after putting aside his preconceptions and studying the works of some senior scientists in the field of geographical science such as Xuesen QIAN and Bingwei HUANG, it gave him a new understanding of geography, and gradually began to like it.

Looking back at how he went from wanting to change majors to diving into it so much, Professor ZENG said there are still many students who do not know what they like or want to do. At such times, one must try as hard as possible and based on their own interests, choose a major with which they feel they can enjoy and devote their time and effort into it. He hopes the students of SUSTech will make full use of the precious opportunities they have and that they excel in whichever fields they choose to specialize in.

Speaking about why he chose to work at the university, Mr. ZENG said that he had grown up in Shenzhen. When SUSTech first opened, he knew the University wanted to explore the innovative development of China’s higher education and had been paying close attention. When he was a postdoctoral fellow, he often came to SUSTech to give lectures. It reminded him of the university he was working at abroad, particularly in academic research. As a young professor, he is very grateful to the University for providing him with a very good research platform and environment to grow in.

To be inspired and inspire others

Throughout every stage of his education pathway, Professor ZENG said that he was lucky to meet mentors and friends who inspired him and always offered advice along the way.

Mr. ZENG went to Princeton University to study and broaden his horizons. He said that at that time, his level of English was very poor, and he also lacked self-confidence. But his tutor, Eric F. Wood, was not critical of him, but instead offered words of encouragement and gave him time to adjust to life in a new country with a different culture. He feels if he had been harsh on him at the beginning, he would be a different person today.

Professor ZENG has absorbed a lot from his mentors and instructors along the way, in areas such as different ways to approach teachers and other matters that may arise within the classroom. He tries to implement this valuable knowledge and experience he has gained into his own teaching and work environment. In order to create a better English atmosphere, he has set up an English corner in the laboratory, where he will participate in it every week. When instructing students, he implements a similar study and work model that was in place at Princeton University. He holds group meetings with the students to discuss how to broaden their research ideas but also holds one-on-one discussions with them at a fixed time every week.

In Professor ZENG’s view, team innovation and the classroom atmosphere are very important. For different students, Mr. ZENG has different education methods. He pays more attention to the cultivation of habits and thinking, hoping that it will broaden their thinking. The students have been very receptive to this and enjoy his approach to education. Under his influence, they also began to read a lot of literature and form their own unique views. Several undergraduate students have also begun to start on their own research papers.

We are the “Doctors” of “Earth Dermatology”

When it comes to his field of study, Dr. ZENG says the earth is like the human body. The Earth’s surface is the equivalent of the human skin. He said for the people in his field of work, just like a dermatologist, is to diagnose what’s wrong with the skin and try to fix it.

He said that the Earth is now under the threat of global warming. If we do not study and take measures to prevent the global impact of the greenhouse effect, it will bring unimaginable consequences. He hopes through his hard work at SUSTech, he can contribute towards protecting the environment, the development of geographic science, and the sustainable development of human society.