Graduates | 林慧梓：广以学霸初长成
流年似水，岁月如歌。今年六月，广东以色列理工学院即将迎来首届毕业生。广以2017级本科毕业生系列采访将带大家一同聆听这四年来学生们与广以的故事，共同见证广以学子们的成长。今天分享的是材料科学与工程专业毕业生林慧梓的故事。
姓名：林慧梓
毕业高中：汕头市潮阳实验学校
本科专业：材料科学与工程
“爸妈喊我吃饭，我却非得把题目解出来再吃。”数学和物理就像一个拥有魔力的巨大磁场，深深吸引着林慧梓，沉迷解题废寝忘食的情况经常在她身上发生。“我喜欢钻研各种数理问题，很享受解题过程，解出一道数学题带给我的满足感是无法用言语形容的！”自打懂事起，遥控器、吸尘器等家用电器便成为林慧梓手中的“玩物”，她不亦乐乎地探究它们的工作原理，亲自动手解答脑袋瓜里随时闪现的一个个“为什么”。
秀外慧中，杞梓之才。恬静乖巧的性格和“古灵精怪”的妙思在林慧梓身上毫不违和地并存着，一个理工科学霸的形象瞬间跃然纸上。
攻弱项，破迷茫
作为一个在汕头学习生活了18年的本地人，林慧梓最初在填报高考志愿时，更希望能到别的省市读书，体验不同的生活和文化。“当时，我父亲反而建议我留在汕头读大学，用这四年时间更好地充实自己，以后才能更好地‘走出去’。思考过后我觉得父亲的话不无道理。经过了解，我发现广以是世界顶级理工科学府——以色列理工学院的中国校区，这让从小喜欢理工科的我非常心动。最终，我把广以填在第一志愿，也如愿被录取。”
害怕全英教学、不敢在众人面前演讲是不少广以学生初进校园时的顾虑，林慧梓也不例外。“英语是我高中时期的弱势学科，所以一开始我很担心自己不能适应全英教学，多亏学校的预备学期给了我过渡和适应的缓冲期。预备学期设有英语、数学和物理课。数学和物理课的内容不难，大部分是高中学过的，主要帮助我们掌握最基础的专业词汇。”林慧梓很感谢广以的老师在她不自信时给予她的鼓励。“我很担心发音问题，跟英语老师Gloria交流过后，她告诉我不能因为害怕有口音就不说英语，要多尝试才能进步。”学校开设的供学生自愿报名的讨论小组和英语课，也帮助林慧梓逐步战胜了对英语的恐惧。在广以各种课堂演讲、项目演讲、实验报告演讲的“千锤百炼”下，林慧梓曾经对当众演讲的抵触也不翼而飞。“现在的我虽然还称不上对演讲得心应手，但至少比四年前的我进步很多了，我相信以后读研和工作都会从容很多。”
林慧梓表示，学校“先基础后专业”的课程设置给了她充足的时间去摸索自己的兴趣所在。“大一主要是基础课，大二开始有专业课，还会细分到各个分支，比如高分子材料、陶瓷及耐火材料、电子材料性能、复合材料工程、金属性能及应用等。先广泛接触材料专业不同分支，再从中找到自己的兴趣点，选修相关的专业课深入学习，这样学起来也事半功倍。”
大学期间，除了按照课程设置的指引探索心之所向，林慧梓也善于抓住机会走进企业，将兴趣与职业规划相结合，综合考虑未来发展。大二上学期，林慧梓在学校组织下参观了全球知名纺织品及服装制造商——溢达集团。“我们在研发中心了解衬衣产品的设计原理，在参观生产线时见识了智能化自动化在工业中的应用，还在水质净化中心了解工业废水的处理流程。这样近距离接触企业的机会，让我真正看到所学的知识在实际生活中的应用，也促使我开始思考未来的职业发展。”
四年过去，林慧梓惊喜地发现自己最初的“弱项”已被攻克。她像一只羽翼日渐丰满的求知小鸟，拥有了在知识的蓝天白云间自由穿梭的能力和勇气。
严谨是对科研最基本的尊重
“严谨和全面是科研过程中必备的态度，因为发表出去的文章可能会成为他人研究的引用，必须认真对待科研的每一步。”作为一名理工科学生，林慧梓深知严谨求实的学术精神在科研中的重要性。
大二下学期，林慧梓加入教授的课题组，参与两个课题的研究学习。“第一个课题是探究探针台的探针施加的压力对表征忆阻器的影响，并对由不同材料组成的忆阻器及忆阻器的不同种类的阻变现象进行探究。这是我第一次亲自感受科研过程，全程参与了制备忆阻器样品、对忆阻器进行表征、分析数据、报告数据结果等过程，还做了补充实验使实验结果更加完善，以得出更加严谨的实验结论。这个课题也将成为我毕业论文的主要内容。”
攀登在科学的巨塔上，前进的每一步都显得来之不易。第一次参与课题研究的经历，让林慧梓深刻体会到科研是如此严肃且困难的事情。“对忆阻器阻变现象的探究往往是建立在探究成百个忆阻器性质的基础之上，而每一个忆阻器需要探究几十甚至上百次阻变现象才能避免偶然性，得出严谨的结论。”经过一年多的努力，林慧梓以第二作者的身份在知名学术期刊Advanced Electronic Materials上发表了论文。
初尝科研带来的成就感，让林慧梓潜心科研的信念愈发笃定。“第二个课题是探究数字型忆阻现象和模拟型忆阻现象的共存。在表征过程中有许多参数需要自己设置，例如限流、电压范围、振幅等。在测量过程中，我需要不断地根据实验结果来调整摸索。”林慧梓坦言，这是一个蛮艰难的过程，但她乐在其中。“在不断的尝试中不断学习，这本身就是一件充满挑战的事！”
据林慧梓介绍，广以学业考核的方式很多样，包括作业、考试、演讲和项目等。她印象最深的一门课是“功能材料-性质与器件”，这门课需要学生完成两个项目。“一个项目是制备压电性高的压电材料。查找压电材料的性质和制备过程、购买原材料、制备材料、改进制备方法、测定压电性······这个过程能很全面地考察我们各方面的能力。另一个项目更有意思，需要运用课上所学的磁和电的知识制作一个物品，将专业知识和实际生活结合起来。我们组想到小孩子晚上睡觉时可能会怕黑，但一整晚开着灯又很费电，于是我们决定要做一个有定时作用的光控灯——当周围环境变暗时，灯会自动亮起，一段时间之后自动关闭，亮灯时长可以自己设置。”林慧梓回想起当时在制作过程中遇到的诸多困难——如何制作光控灯、如何制作可定时的灯、如何把两个灯的模式结合在一起······“但最后成功做出来的时候，那种成就感和考试考高分是截然不同的！”
在激励下坚定，在热爱中远航
榜样的力量是无穷的，指引着林慧梓坚定前行。“Silvia Behar Harpaz老师是我从预备学期到大二的任课老师，是我大学四年的榜样。”Silvia最初是在瑞士的大型强子对撞机做实验，后来发现教学才是她的挚爱，于是开始执教于以色列理工学院。“她说来广以是她对世界的探索，她想开拓自己的眼界，了解不一样精彩的文化。我很敬佩她敢于追求自己所爱的精神。无论在科研还是教学，她都做得很棒，讲授知识也能让我们很好地吸收。她的故事激励着我，尽全力把想做的事都做到最好。”
延伸阅读：Physics | Silvia Behar Harpaz：教学是我的挚爱
兴趣使然，本科毕业后，林慧梓打算在电子材料领域继续深造。截止目前，她已收到境外多所高校发出的录取通知书，包括美国加州大学伯克利分校、西北大学、圣路易斯华盛顿大学、新加坡国立大学、英国曼彻斯特大学等。
“在申请研究生院校时，我觉得自己最大的优势是以色列理工学院的院校背景和科研经历。英国的学校发conditional offer时，会要求学生在本科正式毕业时用符合条件的GPA成绩换取正式的offer。它们对广以学生的要求与对国内985高校学生的要求一样，甚至更低。比如曼彻斯特大学要求我GPA要达到70分，而它对国内985高校学生的要求大多是75分。”
林慧梓表示，在广以可以经常和教授们联系、交流，能获得宝贵的科研机会。“科研经历在我的申请中特别加分，特别是美国学校的申请。很感谢学校的教授不厌其烦地为我提交推荐信，陈芬老师和同学们给我的建议也都非常有帮助。”
林慧梓真诚地希望学弟学妹们能找到自己热爱的领域，“保持一个不错的GPA可能对申请有帮助，但也要记得不断充实自己，追求自己所热爱的是最重要的。”
更多广以毕业生的故事
结缘广以，爱我所爱
青春无限好，奋发正当时
在广以成为更好的自己
逐梦广以，上限无限
This June, the first cohort students will graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The series of interviews with the graduates from Class 2021 will show their stories with GTIIT in the past four years. Here is the story about Lin Huizi, a student of Class 2021 from Materials Science and Engineering Program.
Name: Lin Huizi
High school: Chaoyang Experimental School, Shantou
Program: Materials Science and Engineering
"I love working on all kinds of mathematical problems and enjoy the process of solving them. The satisfaction I get from solving a problem is beyond words!" To Lin Huizi, mathematics and physics form a huge magnetic field attracting her irresistibly. Since her childhood, remote control, vacuum cleaners and other household appliances had become toys. She always immersed herself into exploring the scientific principles embedded into these appliances and got a lot of fun from them.
Overcoming weakness and confusion
As a local student who has been living and studying in Shantou for 18 years, Lin Huizi preferred to study in other provinces to experience different life and culture when she made university choice after the college entrance examination. "However, my father suggested me to stay in Shantou to complete undergraduate study. He said I need to enrich myself in the four years for better pursuing further studies abroad. By careful consideration, I thought what my father said were reasonable. Meanwhile, I learned that GTIIT is the Chinese campus of the Technion, a world-renowned higher educational institution in science and technology. The birth of GTIIT impressed me greatly as I had been fond of science-related subjects since childhood. In the end, I put GTIIT as my first choice and was admitted."
Lin Huizi was no exception to the fear of English teaching environment and speaking out in front of people that many students had when they first entered GTIIT. "English was my weak subject in high school, so at first I was worried that I could not adapt to the English teaching environment. Thanks to the preparatory semester, I could get used to it gradually. English, mathematics and physics classes were offered in English in the preparatory semester. The math and physics courses were not difficult, most of which were learned in high school. The main purpose of these courses was to help us master the basic professional vocabulary." Lin Huizi was grateful to her teachers at GTIIT for encouraging her when she was unconfident of herself. "I was worried about my pronunciation. When I talked to Gloria, the English teacher, about my confusion, she told me that I should not stop speaking English just because of my fear of accent. She encouraged me to try more to improve myself." The voluntary discussion groups and English classes open for GTIIT students also helped Lin Huizi overcome her fear of English. Gradually, Lin Huizi's resistance to public speaking has disappeared after a variety of presentations in class. " I feel like I've made a lot of progresses compared to four years ago. I believe I can have better performance in my future study and career."
Lin Huizi said that GTIIT’s curriculum provided her plenty of time to explore knowledge interests. "The courses we had in the first year were mainly basic courses, while the second year started with specialized courses. The specialized courses were further divided into various branches, such as polymer materials, ceramics and refractories, electronic materials properties, composite materials engineering, metal properties and applications, etc. It was much effective to find what I really loved and continue in-depth study after extensive study of material-related subjects in different branches."
In the four years, Lin Huizi seized opportunities to visit enterprises, combining her interests with career plan to consider future development comprehensively. In the first semester of her sophomore year, Lin Huizi joined a GTIIT team to visit the Esquel Group. “It is a famous textile and clothing manufacturer. We learned about the design principles of shirt products in the R&D center, the application of intelligent automation in industry in the production line, and the recycle process of industrial wastewater in the water purification center. Such an opportunity allowed me to see the application of what I had learned in real life, and also push me to think about my future career."
Four years have passed, and Lin Huizi was surprised to find that the weakness and confusion she had before have disappeared. Now she has the ability and courage to better explore knowledge.
Rigor is the fundamental respect for research
"Rigor and comprehensiveness are essential attitudes in scientific research, as the published articles may become references to others' research. Every step in research must be taken seriously." As a student major in science and technology program, Lin Huizi knows the importance of rigorous academic spirit in scientific research.
In the second semester of her sophomore year, Lin Huizi joined the professor's research group and participated in two research projects. "The first project is to explore the influence of the pressure applied by the tip of the probe station on the probe bench on the characterization of memristors, and to explore the different kinds of resistives switching of memristors made of different materials. This was the first time for me to experience the scientific research process personally. I participated in the whole process of preparing the memristor sample, characterizing the memristor, analyzing data, reporting research results, and doing supplementary experiments to improve the experimental results so as to draw more rigorous experimental conclusions. This project will also be the main content of my graduation thesis."
The experience of participating in scientific research for the first time impressed Lin Huizi deeply that research is such a serious and difficult process. "The investigation of memristor resistance phenomenon is usually based on analyzing the properties of hundreds of memristors, and analyzing each memristor needs to explore dozens or even hundreds of times of resistive switching phenomenon in order to avoid contingency and reach rigorous conclusions." After more than a year of efforts, Lin Huizi, as the second author, published a paper in the well-known journal Advanced Electronic Materials.
The sense of research achievement for the first time gave Lin Huizi a firm belief of devoting herself into scientific research. "The second project is to explore the coexistence of digital and analog resistive switching in memristors. In the characterization process, there are many parameters that need to be set, such as current limitation, voltage range, amplitude, etc. During the measurement process, I need to constantly adjust the fumble based on the results of the experiment." Lin Huizi said that it was a tough process, but she enjoyed it. "Learning by trying is a challenge in itself!"
According to Lin Huizi, there are a variety of ways to assess students’ academic performance at GTIIT, including assignments, exams, presentations and projects. The course impressed her the most was From Functional Materials to Devices, which required students to complete two projects. "One project is to make piezoelectric materials with high piezoelectric properties. Searching information of the properties of piezoelectric materials and their preparation process, purchasing raw materials, preparing materials, improving the preparation method, measuring piezoelectric properties... The process can be a very comprehensive review of our capabilities in all aspects.
The other project is more interesting. It involves making an object with the knowledge of magnetism and electricity learned in class, which combines professional knowledge with our daily life. Our group thinks that children may be afraid of the dark when they go to bed at night, but it costs a lot of electricity to keep the light on all night, so we decide to make a light-controlled lamp with timing function -- when the environment becomes dark, the light will turn on automatically and turn off automatically after a period of time, and the users can control how long the lights are on." Lin Huizi recalled the difficulties she encountered in this project -- how to make a light-controlled lamp, how to make a lamp that can be timed, and how to combine the two modes together... "The sense of achievement when you finally made it was very different from a high score in an exam!"
Pursue love under the guidance of model
Lin Huizi has moved forward firmly under the power of model. "Ms. Silvia Behar Harpaz was my teacher from preparatory semester to sophomore year and she is a model for me throughout my university years." Silvia started her career at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, while she took up teaching at Technion after she found that teaching was what she really loved. "She said that teaching at GTIIT was her exploration to the world. She wanted to open her eyes and learn about different cultures. I admire her for her courage to pursue her love. She has done a good job no matter in research or teaching. Her story inspires me to do the best in everything I want to do."
Related reading: Physics | Silvia Behar Harpaz：教学是我的挚爱
Lin Huizi plans to pursue further studies in the field of electronic materials after graduation. So far, she has received offers from many overseas universities, including the University of California at Berkeley, Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, National University of Singapore, the University of Manchester, etc.
"When applying for postgraduate universities, I felt that my advantages are the academic background of Technion and my research experiences. The universities in the UK require students to reach the qualified GPA scores for a formal offer when they send the conditional offers. Their requirements for GTIIT students are the same or even lower than those for students from ‘985 Project’ universities in China. For example, the University of Manchester requires me to achieve a GPA of 70, while their requirement for most ‘985 Project' universities in China is 75."
Lin Huizi said that she could often talk with professors and get valuable research opportunities at GTIIT. "Research experience is a shining point when I apply for postgraduate universities, especially for universities in the USA. I am very grateful to the professors at GTIIT for writing recommendation letter for me, and the helpful suggestions given by Dr. Chen Fen and my classmates."
Lin Huizi sincerely hopes that junior students can find out what they are passionate about. "A good GPA may be helpful for the application, but we should also remember to enrich ourselves constantly. Pursuing what we love is the most important thing."
More stories about GTIIT Class 2021 graduates
结缘广以，爱我所爱
青春无限好，奋发正当时
在广以成为更好的自己
逐梦广以，上限无限
文：GTIIT传媒与公共事务部
图：林慧梓、GTIIT传媒与公共事务部
Text: GTIIT News & Public Affairs
Photos: Lin Huizi, GTIIT News & Public Affairs