Dialogue@ZJU: With Grand Prize winners at CUPT

[Editor’s note: The 12th China Undergraduate Physics Tournament (CUPT), supported by the Ministry of Education, was hosted online by Harbin Normal University from August 21 to 24, with 63 teams from 62 institutions of higher education across China participating. The team from Zhejiang University won the Grand Prize with flying colors, and WANG Hongru, one of the team members, clinched the honorary title of the “Best Opposition.” The team, led by Prof. ZHAO Daomu and undergraduate student CHEN Yangfan, was comprised of five students from the Department of Physics. No sooner had they finished their stressful examination week in early July than they started to gear up for the competition in the laboratory. Over one and a half months, they gave of themselves in time and energy to the competition from theoretical calculations to experiment operations and from simulation tests to building prototypes. Coaches, including TAN Mingqiu, YANG Bo, ZHENG Yuan, YAO Xingxing, XIAO Ting, WANG Zhouyang and GUO Hongli, also provided meticulous instructions. In the interview, the students shared their fascinating experiences with us.]

FENG Jiachen (team leader)

"The best part of the contest is the combination of preparation, teamwork, improvisation and a bit of luck. Our preparation lasted several months, including guidance from teachers. Even with sufficient preparation, we still encountered unexpected difficulties during the competition. The spirit of not giving up and the high standard of work led to our satisfactory outcomes. No team has ever made it to the final with a reduced weight, and we did it!"

WANG Hongru

"It's a great honor for me to win the competition and to be awarded as the best debater in CUPT. Our team has prepared for nearly a whole year, especially this summer. I would like to express my gratitude to the teachers who have spent their holidays coaching us. Their outstanding ideas and useful suggestions have helped me a lot. In addition, I also want to say “thank you”to my team members. During these days, we have kept rooting for each other and finally have overcome many difficulties together. In a word, I will never forget this golden experience."

BAO Zehang

"We are arguably the first team in history to be awarded the grand prize with a point penalty. When we turned down four questions in one competition, we all thought we were out of the finals, but we kept playing at our best. The results were unexpected but understandable, thanks to the teamwork and our extensive experimentation."

WANG Ziwen

"This competition let me play an ordinary summer life out of a unique significance. Since May, the birth of every experimental phenomenon and the coincidence of every data point with the theory have filled me with unprecedented happiness and satisfaction. In the competition, we gave the audience the best presentation, we answered all the questions of our opponents with confidence, and we won all the recognition. This is the best gift of research."

ZHAO Liangliang

"It' s my great pleasure to win the grand prize of this competition. Through this competition, my experimental and thinking ability have been greatly improved. During the preparation, many problems were encountered, ranging from the experimental equipment to the experimental details. After discussing with my teacher and my unremitting efforts, I achieved the results I hoped for. I really appreciate my lovely and professional instructors and I want to give myself a thumb-up for working so hard for the competition."

CHEN Yangfan

"In the preparation for the competition over the past months, it was hard to begin working at eight in the morning and finish at ten in the evening every day, plus commuting between Yuquan campus and Zijingang campus, but now it seems that everything has paid off. I am very happy to see the team win the special prize, and I sincerely feel worthwhile. I hope that next year's students can make persistent efforts and create brilliance!"