Island becomes magnet for top researchers
Print Edition
When Wang Junfeng, a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School, told his wife in 2009 that they would be giving up the life they had built in America to move to a small island in east China, she had no idea what he was talking about.
They have now lived on the island for eight years and Wang has built up quite an impressive research career there.
The island, on the outskirts of Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, is home to more than 10 research institutes and 1,000 top researchers like Wang. It is known as 鈥淪cience Island.鈥
Seven of Wang鈥檚 fellow Chinese researchers at Harvard decided to follow him and say it is the ideal place for them to carry out their research.
In the 1990s and early 21st century, many Chinese college students flocked to developed countries like the United States to pursue further studies and professions with the help of more advanced equipment.
Wang Wenchao and Zhang Xin were among them. The couple, who now live and work on Science Island, obtained doctoral degrees on medicine in the US in 2008 after graduating from Peking University.
They then pursued post-doctoral studies at Harvard where they met several other Chinese fellows, including Wang Junfeng.
鈥淟ife went on quietly, smoothly, but uneventfully,鈥 said Zhang. 鈥淏oston was like heaven to our children, but we adults felt something was missing. We were lonely.鈥
Lin Wenchu, another member of the group, said: 鈥淚t was nice to work abroad, but my long-term dream was always to have my own laboratory where I could do independent research.鈥
When the financial crisis hit the US hard in 2008 it only aggravated their anxieties. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 see any promising career outlook,鈥 said Wang Wenchao. 鈥淧lus, there has always been a glass ceiling for us as foreigners.鈥
In the past two decades or so, as China鈥檚 economy blossomed, the country has attached more importance to science and technology, making it an increasingly attractive base for researchers.
Construction began on Science Island in 2008, as one of the major national science projects supported by the National Development and Reform Commission.
Wang Junfeng, who studied high magnetic fields for his doctoral degree, was attracted to the island because advanced experimental equipment on steady high magnetic fields was to be built there, making China the fifth country in the world to have such equipment.
Liu Qingsong, another one of the eight Harvard returnees, said he began to realize the opportunities in China from promotional campaigns at overseas universities to attract overseas Chinese talents to return home.
鈥淚 felt a warm welcome and received generous offers from Chinese research institutes when I led a 10-strong delegation of Chinese overseas students from America to visit China in 2010,鈥 said Liu.
The island has produced some significant scientific breakthroughs over the years, particularly in the field of cancer treatments.
鈥淥ur facilities have reached the highest level in the world,鈥 said researcher Zhang Na, 鈥渃atching up with developed countries thanks to continuous high-level input.鈥
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