Q: You have been working as a counselor for school for 2 years. Why did you make such choice and what impact did this experience bring to you?
A: I was preparing for the entrance exam for graduate school at that time. However the question “Why do I pursue my study? What’s the point of getting a master degree” kept popping up in my head, and I didn’t feel any motive to study further. In order to earn time to think it over and improve my ability I decided to apply to be a counselor. During the two years of counselor work I gradually learnt the answers to my question. I began to understand the true meaning of “study” and “education”, how to be a qualified student and what a successful scholar should prepare to do. I talked to my students everyday and I was influenced by it as well. I read many books on economy, philosophy, literature and etc., and been to various lectures held by the university, which broadened my horizon and taught me how to deal with my work, colleagues and my life. The more I communicated with my students the more ignorant I felt myself was. So I had stronger motivation to study. When I started my graduate years, at first I didn’t have much confidence in myself but day by day I have made some progress.
Q: What is the biggest change mentally after you became the counselor?
A: The experience had made me to be more persistent, hard-working and excellence pursing. I learnt the spirit of never giving up. So I think when doing research you have to set a high standard for yourself; you cannot give it up until you make your best effort to reach that limit. When you reach it, you will see yourself greatly improved in all ways. There are many excellent scholars who keep this spirit and solve any problems they meet. They just keep doing the smallest things and finally they make a big success. The habit of pursuing perfection and attention to details is very beneficial to everyone.
Q: What are your research areas?
A: I used to work in fields of intelligent transportation, traffic control, transportation safety and travel behavior. In the future I plan to focus more on intelligent transportation, especially the use of new technology.
Q: Does the experience of joint-doctoral program in UCBerkeley enlighten you?
A: Yes, that experience really helps me grow. Studying abroad offers me abundant time and freedom doing research and writing papers. I published my first SCI paper in America. When I first got to the USA in 2010, the lab there was full of awesome people with doctor degrees who had each published at least 10 SCI papers and were committee members of TRB. I often talked to them, exchanging ideas on research. During that period I usually worked day and night with coffee to keep me up. In the beginning I didn’t see the result of my efforts but I wasn’t frustrated and keep working hard. As time passed by I could feel the improvement came to accumulate, which laid the foundation of my later research.
Q: In your post-doc stage you have surprisingly achieved remarkable academic results. Can you share you secrets of success?
A: In my lab in the USA, everybody was under great stress doing many projects. It is common that lights kept on until mid of the night. Now I look back on this experience, I understand no pain no gain. My advice is that you have to make your mind to dig deep into any subject you are interested in, and have an all-around understanding to former knowledge. You need to have the ability to discover new problems and improve English writing skills. All above takes time and efforts. Loneliness is inevitable so you must have a strong mind. I published my first paper after three years of hard work so you can see there is no short-cut to success.
Q: What do you think of the prospect of transportation engineering?
A: Our faculty has a very good reputation and impact in China in transportation industry, and our alumni are all round China, which is a good thing to our students’ future development. In the near future transportation will combine with big data more and more, and requirements for talents in this industry gets tougher and higher. A talent needs to have essential skills like programming, model building, data analysis, presenting reports and etc. The ability to quickly fit in a new environment is also vital.
Q: What do you think of startups nowadays?
A: It’s a trend these days that students start their new businesses, showing their passion and creativity which are very valuable spirits. The word “startup” is not empty words, but real deeds that demand very high of people involved. An entrepreneur is the one who collects various information to know what the world is like and what can be done in the future, to dig out things nobody ever done before and to build a team and keep fighting to make progress to sell to the market until the very end. Startups have risks. But it is better to try to realize your dream than to do nothing at all. Failures keep people grow and your lessons are what matter the most.
Q: Finally, any advice for your students?
A: Cherish time! The time in the campus is the best time of your life. You can cultivate your perspective, charisma, ability to learn, life habits and etc. Be passionate. Be an active learner. Everyday you can make a small improvement on yourself. Keep holding on. Try everything, especially in your research and set high standards. Keep going no matter how hard it could be. Be sentimental sometimes. Don’t be a utilitarian. Always think of “make the world a better place”, and keep a peaceful and kind heart.