By Fu Chenlin (a summer camper from Hubei)

Date: July 19

The group photo of the 2019 summer camp of middle school students at the UCAS in Beijing, from July 15 to 20. [Image: UCAS]

Today is the fourth day on the campus of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). In the past three days, I have experienced the beauty of nearby Yanqi Lake, the richness and wonder of the animal world, the cutting-edge technology of our country and the brilliance of the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This morning I listened to two lectures given by two academicians. One was delivered by Ouyang Zhongcan. It made me recognize the convenience that technology brings to life. Technology is making a fundamental change to our lives, from the first-generation cellular phone that weighed 750g to modern smart phones that weigh less than 200g and have only a few milliwatts of power.

The other lecture, given by Wang Jingxiu, was about “solar activity and its impact on humanity’s living environment”. His lecture gave me a better understanding of the sun and its impact on the earth. The earliest record about sunspots is in Huai-nan Tzu, a Chinese philosophical masterpiece from around 140 BC in the early Han Dynasty (202 BC-220).

Human’s observation of the sun has never stopped since ancient times, and we are moving toward a more precise understanding of it. It is both far away from us, and close to us. Only by predicting its movements accurately can we minimize the threat it poses to us and maximize the benefits it brings to us.

The academicians I listened to informed me in detail of many matters beyond my imagination. For example, I had never thought that progress in smart phone development could be a highlight of engineering or that the sun poses a threat to life on Earth.

They are our predecessors, and passing on knowledge to us is their mission. We are the new generation of youth in the 21st century and taking up the country's scientific and technological progress is our mission. At the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I found science and a better self!

Source: University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)