Wuhan University's first female academician, the first Chinese person to receive the highest award in the field of international renewable resources, has passed away at the age of 80

Jin Lei reports from Aofei Temple
Qubit Report | Official Account: QbitAI

Sad, another superstar has passed away.

According to the official obituary of Wuhan University:

Zhang Lina , a renowned chemist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor, and doctoral supervisor at Wuhan University , died of illness at 8:00 PM on October 17, 2020, in Wuhan at the age of 80.

△ Image source: Wuhan University official website

Zhang Lina is the first female academician of Wuhan University. She has devoted her life to the basic and applied research of polymer physics and natural polymer materials.

Her world-first technology for dissolving polymers in water at low temperatures was awarded the highest international award in the field of cellulose and renewable resource materials, the Anselme Payen Award from the American Chemical Society, in 2011 .

Furthermore, Zhang Lina is the first Chinese scientist to receive this honor. The organizing committee commented:

It has opened the door from basic research in cellulose science to the cellulose materials industry.

"A pioneer in China's green chemistry and a pioneer in natural polymers ," is the official evaluation of Wuhan University.

△ Image source: Wuhan University official website

"Passion is not limited by age." He started his research career at the age of 46.

Zhang Lina was born on August 14, 1940, in Guangze County, Fujian Province. Her family can be said to be a scholarly family.

His father graduated from Tsinghua University and later served as the director of the Jiangxi Normal University Library; his mother was a middle and primary school teacher.

According to China Youth Daily, Zhang Lina received a good education since childhood. The patient guidance and seriousness and responsibility of her elders were also indispensable factors in her success.

However, Zhang Lina's scientific research journey was not smooth sailing.

Zhang Lina (third from right in the front row) and her classmates at Wuhan University in 1959. Source: Wuhan University official website

According to the official website of Wuhan University, after graduating from the Department of Chemistry of Wuhan University in 1963, Zhang Lina joined the Institute of Metals and Chemistry of the Beijing Academy of Railway Sciences, where she stayed for 10 years.

It was not until 1973 that he was transferred to the Department of Chemistry at Wuhan University as a lecturer. From May 1985 to July 1986, he received a scholarship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and went to Osaka University as a visiting researcher, engaged in theoretical research on polymer solutions.

Zhang Lina was 46 years old when she returned to China. It was at this time that she had her own scientific research direction and experimental team for the first time, and began scientific research in the true sense.

Thus, the door to Zhang Lina's research in the new field of natural polymers from renewable resources was completely opened.

From a flask and a test tube to the creation of a world-class scientific research laboratory, Zhang Lina has perfectly demonstrated what it means that "passion is not limited by age."

After decades of continuous effort, in 2011, she became the only female academician at Wuhan University, a prestigious institution with a history of over a century .

In the same year, Zhang Lina won the Anselm Payne Award for her "secret recipe" of a magical low-temperature water solvent, becoming the first Chinese to win the award in half a century.

According to the Wuhan University website, Academician Zhang Lina has presided over more than 20 major projects, including key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, national 973 and 863 projects, and international collaborations. She has published over 600 papers in major domestic and international academic journals, which have been cited nearly 20,000 times. She has been granted over 100 patents and edited a series of ten monographs, the first in China and abroad to provide detailed coverage of natural polymers.

The achievements are too numerous to count.

"A late bloomer" is how society describes her; "The early bird catches the worm" is a phrase she often uses to evaluate herself.

Zhang Lina always believes that "genius comes from hard work" and devoting more time and energy than others is also the main reason for her success.

12 years of hard work, creating a "mythical story"

Cellulose and chitin are the most abundant renewable resources on earth, but the problem of their dissolution has always been a world-class problem.

Because the dissolution technology at that time was not only costly and energy-intensive, but also caused serious pollution to the environment.

In 2000, at the age of 60 , she received funding for a key project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Since then, she has been researching new fiber solvents and environmentally friendly materials.

After 12 years of hard work day and night by Zhang Lina and her team, they finally developed a new technology for the low-temperature dissolution of insoluble macromolecules (cellulose, chitin, chitosan and polyaniline) in alkaline/urea aqueous solvents.

The application of such technology can be said to have opened a new "green" door for the recycling of biomass waste such as cellulose and chitin.

In an exclusive interview with Zhang Lina by the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemistry World publication, she was described as "a pioneer and champion of green chemistry in China."

This achievement was later described by scientists as a "mythical story . "

However, all these achievements can be said to be the inevitable result of Zhang Lina's unremitting efforts bit by bit for decades.

△ Zhang Lina (right) guides undergraduate students in conducting experiments in 1988; Source: Wuhan University official website

Professor Zhou Jinping of Wuhan University commented:

After 15 years of studying and working in Professor Zhang's research group, what impressed me most was her dedication and passion for scientific research, as well as her wholehearted devotion! She is meticulous in everything she does and is very approachable.

To her students, it is not uncommon to receive calls from Zhang Lina at 11pm and emails at 1 or 2am.

Students also commented:

We have winter and summer vacations, but Teacher Zhang only has three days off a year.

This also confirms a famous saying that Zhang Lina often quotes to herself and her students:

There is no smooth road in science. Only those who climb along the rugged path without fear of difficulties can reach the pinnacle of science.

The scientific research spirit is worthy of admiration and learning

In Zhang Lina, we should not only see her extraordinary achievements, but also learn from the scientific research spirit that emanates from the depths of her soul.

Many people ask Zhang Lina a question:

You are so old, why do you still work so hard?

Zhang Lina replied:

Because I like science, I have a strong desire and passion for scientific research, and I feel a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment in the process of discovering new things.

I am not smart and I don’t have a high level of education, but I am willing to learn everything.

Not only that, Zhang Lina's decades-long passion for scientific research and rigorous attitude are not only reflected in her treatment of herself, but also in her treatment of others, the most obvious of which is in her education.

Zhang Lina has worked diligently in teaching and research for decades, and now, in her seventies, she still insists on teaching undergraduate students at the podium.

△ Image source: Wuhan University official website; second from left: Academician Zhang Lina

"Very strict" is how students evaluate her: she is very serious in revising students' papers, and there was a record of her revising a paper 8 times; she was so meticulous that she would revise even a word or a sentence.

But at the same time, being Zhang Lina's student is also a very happy thing.

Unless it is during class time, Zhang Lina will respond enthusiastically when students call her; she will also give students nutritional supplements and encourage them to exercise; she will also remind students like a mother about the details of dealing with people.

The reason why Zhang Lina has always upheld this spirit towards herself and others is very simple.

She believes that "a single person cannot gain a foothold in the world. Only when we are tied together can we form a powerful force."

Other fallen stars of science

Zhang Lina’s passing is undoubtedly a great loss to the scientific community, but we should learn from her stories, deeds and achievements her noble qualities such as hard work, persistence and love.

Of course, this also includes other "fallen" superstars in the scientific community.

According to statistics from the Global Times:

• Jiang Hongde, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and renowned expert in turbomachinery and power engineering; Chi Zhiqiang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and renowned neuropharmacologist;

• Fang Shouxian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and renowned accelerator physicist, and Li Fanghua, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and renowned physicist;

• Sun Ruyong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and renowned ecologist; Duan Zhengcheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and expert in mechanical manufacturing and automation;

• Zhou Tonghui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and renowned pharmacist; Sha Qinglin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and renowned highway engineering expert;

• Jiang Yiyuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and renowned agricultural engineer;

• Ning Jinsheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, renowned geodesist and educator; Li Daozeng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University;

• Zhou Jun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and renowned plant resources and plant chemist; Lu Shibi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and orthopedic expert;

• Cao Chunan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an expert in corrosion science and electrochemistry;

• …
  

The value they have created for China's scientific community is undoubtedly priceless.

They should be remembered by future generations, not only for their great contributions and inspiring deeds, but also for the scientific research spirit they uphold.

The master is gone, but his glory lives on.

Reference Links:

https://www.whu.edu.cn/info/1118/16412.htm https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_9615372 https://www.chem.whu.edu.cn/info/1570/9635.htm https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/a5O8X974AR7LH3JHC73ehw https://m.uczzd.cn/webview/news?