Graduates | 蔡嘉翔：平淡的日子也能闪闪发光

Original 广以君广东以色列理工学院

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GRADUATES INTERVIEW

白驹过隙，又一届毕业生即将奔赴各自人生的星辰大海。四年点滴交织闪耀，光亮照向浩瀚征途。广东以色列理工学院2018级本科毕业生系列采访将带大家走进广以学子们的故事，回忆往昔峥嵘岁月，共盼未来似锦前程。

本期我们将与大家分享化学工程专业毕业生蔡嘉翔的故事。

Interview

蔡嘉翔

毕业高中：广州市第二中学

本科专业：化学工程

获得奖项：

广以校长奖学金二等奖

广以学业优秀奖学金二等奖

广以常务副校长嘉许名单

广以本科生院院长嘉许名单

录取院校：

魏茨曼科学研究所（获全额奖学金）

卡耐基梅隆大学

瓦赫宁根大学

哥本哈根大学

新加坡国立大学

香港科技大学

香港中文大学（深圳）

没有一蹴而就，唯有行稳致远；不求一气呵成，目标逐一实现。当拿到魏茨曼科学研究所全额奖学金的录取通知书，以及卡耐基梅隆大学、哥本哈根大学等世界知名学府抛出的“橄榄枝”时，这个乐呵呵的大男孩告诉我们“学习没有诀窍，但也没那么难”。

蔡嘉翔在毕业典礼上与龚新高校长合影

循序渐进，稳扎稳打

面对“雅思首考总分7.5分、听力8分”的不菲战绩，嘉翔却认为这不值一提。“平时看论文对提升阅读速度、积累词汇很有帮助。我在雅思阅读考试中遇到以‘聚合物’为主题的专业性较强的文章，但其实在论文中早已司空见惯。在四年全英文上课的锻炼下，做雅思听力也没有太大困难。”

当被问到“GPA90分以上的秘诀是什么”时，嘉翔表示自己的大学生涯只是“按部就班、劳逸结合”。“预备学期和大一的数学、生物、基础化学课程为后面的学习打下了扎实的基础。整个大学期间，我尽量保证每节课都出席，上完课尽早完成作业。广以的课堂鼓励提问，我们有什么问题在课堂上就可以解决，不用浪费课后的时间。老师还会给我们作业里的错题附上详细的批改意见，复习时候就更有针对性。课业任务按部就班地完成后，就有更多时间可以娱乐放松。”嘉翔表示，这四年自己的自主学习能力“火箭式”提升，养成了高效记笔记的好习惯，还“治好了”自己的拖延症。

蔡嘉翔拍摄于长白山

大三上学期，因疫情上网课期间，嘉翔和同学们使用Zoom组成了学习社群讨论问题。“一开始主要是因为物理3这门课的作业难度比较大，所以我们就组建了学习小组，大家一起分享解题思路。后来逐渐变成了不定期的交流会，让我们既能互相解决难题，又能维持同学之间的联系，缓解了疫情期间的焦虑和不安。”

“探索目前空缺的东西可能会带给人意外的惊喜。”很多人会觉得理论学习枯燥乏味，但在嘉翔眼中，对理论知识的学习和研究却格外引人入胜，他也表示自己将来可能会倾向于化学、生物制药等方向的研究。

蔡嘉翔（右2）与好友合影

分解目标，逐一实现

大三下学期开始，嘉翔加入了广以环境科学与工程系教授Varenyam Achal的课题组，参与“一种利用皂土-海藻酸钠复合材料包裹脲酶菌制备微生物自修复混凝土的方法”这一课题的研究。

蔡嘉翔拍摄于华南植物园

“Achal教授非常友善、负责，他常常鼓励我们自己思考，去尝试新的方法，而不是给我们下达指令，这让我在不断试错的过程中有了很大的信心。” 在嘉翔眼中，科研就是把大目标分割成若干个小目标并逐一实现的过程。“每到一个小阶段出成果的时候，就会很有成就感。”嘉翔回忆道，研究开始前需要制定大致的研究计划，比如决定特殊培养基材料、实验设计、实验方法等，都需要从大量的文献中获取灵感来进行设计。“实验失败的情况时有发生，在失败后反思总结，推翻之前的实验重新来过，这些都是很正常的情况。我认为提前经历这个过程对未来的研究生活是非常重要的。”

蔡嘉翔拍摄于南沙湿地公园

对于未来，嘉翔表示自己有读博的打算。目前，他已收到魏茨曼科学研究所化学科学硕士的录取通知书，并获得全额奖学金。“这个院校不需要提前确定导师，入学后可以先做三个不同的项目，再决定进哪个组。这样可以给我更多的时间去尝试，确定自己真正感兴趣的方向。”嘉翔告诉师弟师妹们，如果打算从事科研要尽早准备。“大一暑假就可以联系老师进组了，早点来试试适不适合自己，最重要的是弄清楚自己的兴趣点和研究方向，这是未来申请研究型学位的重要基础。”

GRADUATES INTERVIEW

Time flies and the second cohort of students are going to graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) this year. We will present a series of interviews with the graduates from the Class of 2022, to show their stories at GTIIT in the past four years.

Here is the story of Cai Jiaxiang, a student of the Class of 2022 from Chemical Engineering Program.

Interview

Cai Jiaxiang

High school:

Guangzhou No.2 High School

Awards:

GTIIT Chancellor's Scholarship

GTIIT Academic Excellence Scholarship

GTIIT Vice Chancellor's List

GTIIT Dean's List

Received offers from:

Weizmann Institute of Science

Carnegie Mellon University

Wageningen University

University of Copenhagen

National University of Singapore

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

There is no such thing as overnight success, only steady and long-term progress; he never seeks to complete things in one go, but achieves goals one by one. After being admitted to Weizmann Institute of Science with a full scholarship, and receiving offers from other world-renowned universities such as Carnegie Mellon University and University of Copenhagen, the cheerful boy told us, "There is no shortcut to learning, but it's not that difficult."

Jiaxiang with GTIIT Chancellor Prof. Gong Xingao on the graduation ceremony

Step by step, slowly but surely

When he took the IELTS for the first time, Jiaxiang got a total score of 7.5 with an 8 in listening, but he thought it was nothing to speak of. "Reading papers is very helpful in improving my reading speed and accumulating vocabulary. For example, in the test, I met an article about 'polymer', a topic uncommon to most people but familiar to me since it has appeared in chemical papers. After four years of training in the English teaching environment, I did not have too much difficulty in IELTS listening, too."

When asked what is the secret to getting a GPA over 90, Jiaxiang said his university life was just step-by-step, maintaining a balance of work and rest. "I tried to attend every class and finish my homework as soon as I could. Our teachers encouraged us to ask questions, so we could solve all the problems in class. Teachers also gave us detailed comments on our mistakes, which saved my time reviewing contents before the exams. When you get your schoolwork done, you have more time for fun and relaxation." According to Jiaxiang, his self-learning ability has "rocketed" over the past four years. He has developed the habit of taking notes efficiently and cured his procrastination.

photo of Changbai Mountains by Jiaxiang

In the first semester of junior year, Jiaxiang and his classmates formed a study group on Zoom during the online class period due to the epidemic. "At the beginning, it was formed to solve difficult problems in assignments of Physics 3. Later, it became a regular-used platform allowing us to solve problems with each other, maintaining the connection between classmates, and alleviating the anxiety during the epidemic."

"Exploring what is currently vacant can lead to unexpected surprises." Many people may think that theoretical learning is boring, but in Jiaxiang's eyes, theories are particularly fascinating. He also indicated that he may be inclined to research in the fields of chemistry and biopharmaceutical in the future.

Jiaxiang (right2) with his friends

Break down the goals, accomplish them one by one

From the second semester of the junior year, Jiaxiang joined the research group of Prof. Varenyam Achal from GTIIT Environmental Engineering Program, and participated in the research of "Encapsulation of ureolytic bacteria in the composites of bentonite and alginate to be used as microbial self-healing concrete".

photo of South China Botanical Garden by Jiaxiang

"Prof. Achal is very kind and responsible. He often encourages us to think independently and try new methods instead of directly giving us instructions, which gives me a lot of confidence in trial and error." In Jiaxiang's eyes, scientific research was the process of dividing the big goal into several small tasks and achieving them one by one. "Every time I get a result, I feel a sense of accomplishment." Jiaxiang recalled that before the project began, it was necessary to make a general research plan, such as deciding on special materials, experimental design, experimental methods, etc., all of which were inspired by a large number of literature. "Failure in experiments happens from time to time. It is very normal to reflect on and summarize the experiment after that, overturn the previous experiment and start again. I think it is very important to go through this process in advance for future research life."

photo of Nansha Wetland Park by Jiaxiang

For the future, Jiaxiang said he intended to pursue a Ph.D degree. He has received an offer of Master of Chemical Sciences from Weizmann Institute of Science with a full scholarship. "In Weizmann, I don't have to decide my supervisor in advance. Once enrolled, I can do three different projects before choosing the group I'd like to join. It gives me more time to explore what I'm really interested in." Jiaxiang suggested to the junior students that if they planned to engage in scientific research, prepare as soon as possible. "In the summer vacation of the freshman year, you can contact the teachers to join the research group, and see if it is suitable for you. The most important thing is to find out your interests and research direction, which is an important foundation for applying for a research master's degree in the future."

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