From cowherd to professor of Peking University, he won the highest prize in space science.

Zong Qiugang, born in 1965 10, is the director of Peking University Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, and the director of distinguished professor and Peking University Space Science and Exploration Center of Peking University College of Earth and Space Sciences, mainly engaged in magnetospheric physics, space meteorology and space exploration research.

Why did the flying spacecraft suddenly lose its signal? Why do well-run satellites burn up instantly in space?

Zong Qiugang, 54, is the one who can give the answer. He comes from a remote village in Xiangtang Town, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Through unremitting efforts, he has become a professor at Peking University College of Earth and Space Sciences. His main research interests are magnetospheric physics, space meteorology and space exploration.

Not long ago, Zong Qiugang's team published a study in Nature Communication, revealing the geometry and generation mechanism of electron-scale magnetic holes in space plasma physics.

His achievements and honors don't stop there. Zong Qiugang won the vikram Salabahai Gold Award jointly awarded by the International Committee on Space Research and the Indian Space Research Organization in 20 18 for his outstanding contributions in the field of magnetosphere wave-particle interaction and magnetosphere response to solar wind discontinuity.

This is the first time that China scientists have won the highest prize in the international space science community after a lapse of eight years.

See the wider world.

When he was young, Zong Qiugang had to herd cattle, do farm work and undertake a lot of housework. Although the days are poor, Zong Qiugang doesn't feel bitter. "When I was a child, the sky in my hometown was particularly blue, and I could see the beautiful Milky Way every night." Zong Qiugang, who likes to look up at the sky, feels that the world is very big. He wants to go out, go to college and see the wider world.

Through the pre-test selection, Zong Qiugang was successfully admitted to Sichuan University. When he was in high school, many media reported the deeds of physicists Li Zhengdao and Yang Zhenning, which set off an upsurge of learning physics. Affected by this, he got good grades in physics and mathematics, so he chose nuclear physics as his major.

/kloc-Zong Qiugang, 0/5 years old, went south by train and went to his favorite university. Because I didn't have the money to buy a train ticket, I only went home three times in four years.

Zong Qiugang was puzzled and asked, "Is it necessary?" The other party replied, "I already have three of the best cameras in the world. I can only blame myself for not taking good photos." Zong Qiugang was deeply inspired by this: "The external conditions of research are all there. If you can't do a good job, you can only blame yourself for not working hard. "

During his two years in Antarctica, Zong Qiugang worked hard to learn English while participating in magnetic field monitoring at the Observatory. At that time, communication technology was still very backward, and Zong Qiugang could only make a satellite call to his home once every two months. When he has nothing to do, he often knocks stones with an old professor who studies geology, and then develops a hobby of studying stones.

I would rather be a student than a scholar.

At that time, the data of domestic space physics research was very limited, and Zong Qiugang felt it necessary to go abroad to have a look. From 65438 to 0994, he came to Max Planck Institute (hereinafter referred to as Max Planck Institute) in Germany through the scholar exchange program.

After going to Germany, Zong Qiugang studied German in the northern German city of Bremen for four months. After studying, a Taiwanese businessman in the same class asked Zong Qiugang to work in the company-assembling computers. At first, it took him 2 hours to assemble one, but later it only took 30 minutes. "This friend suggested that I study computers with him instead of academics," Zong Qiugang said. "At that time, the development of the Internet was still in its infancy. People who go to night school can basically enter the Internet industry, but I still prefer space physics. "

In his view, instead of being an "automatic Aauto Quicker" for assembling computers, it is better to explore the unknown and do more challenging things.

After several decades, Zong Qiugang still sticks to the track of space physics. "Pigs standing at the tuyere are really easy to be blown up, but many people will also be eliminated by this wind. Only things that have been precipitated and polished over time will last long in Mika. " Zong Qiugang said.

When he arrived in Mapu, Zong Qiugang handed over a research completed in graduate school to his tutor Wilken. Wilken asked, "Where is the upper limit of this calculation result?" Zong Qiugang couldn't answer.

At that time, I saw Wilken take out a palm-sized notebook from his coat pocket with some simplified formulas written on it. Using the formula, Wilken quickly worked out the upper limit, which made Zong Qiugang very excited. "It took me nearly two years to make something, and Wilken got it done in two minutes." He said.

From then on, Zong Qiugang began to study hard. Read English textbooks and monographs. For half a year, he lived a life of two points and one line in his residence and office. The precipitation during this period laid a solid foundation for his later research.

During this period, Zong Qiugang came up with the idea of going to Germany to get a degree. Wilken said, "Have you thought it over? The salary of being a student can be much lower than working in Max Planck. " Zong Qiugang insisted very much, so Wilken introduced him to the University of Technology in Brunswick, Germany, for a doctorate. 1999, Zong Qiugang successfully obtained his doctorate.

During Zong Qiugang's first two years in Max Planck Institute, Tu Chuanzhi, a professor at Peking University Institute of Earth and Space Sciences, happened to come once. As the only two people in China, they squeeze out half a day for a walk every week. The two often debate about hot spots at home and abroad, and sometimes they have a big fight. "After finishing, Teacher Tu will go back to check the information for the topic and continue to argue next week." Zong Qiugang said that "once a week" made him gradually develop the habit of independent thinking.

The secret of success is hard work.

In order to make the satellite as light as possible, the thickness of the skeleton structure around the satellite-skin is only 1 mm, and there is a small electron in space with an energy of about 654.38+ 1 100 million volts, which can easily penetrate the skin to reach the inside of the satellite and be deposited inside. As time goes on, the deposited electrons reach a critical state, which may lead to satellite spontaneous combustion. This is the famous "killer electronics".

Previously, some scholars thought that the jitter of the magnetic field caused the "killer electron". In 2007, Zong Qiugang discovered that "killer electronics" were "blown" away by the solar wind. When the solar wind shakes, it will produce ultra-low frequency waves, which will suddenly accelerate the "killer electrons" and accelerate their deposition in satellites.

From June 5438 to October 2008 10, the famous American magazine Discovery published the progress of "Top 100 Global Science and Technology in 2007", and Zong Qiugang's research results on the rapid formation mechanism of "killer electronics" ranked 37th.

In 2009, the European Space Agency announced 10 as a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the implementation of the binary star-Cluster II II project, and Zong Qiugang ranked first as a project cooperation scientist. Cluster satellite has been in orbit for 10 years, and the European Space Agency evaluated it according to the number of published papers and the research results of participating scientists. Zong Qiugang ranked first with 16 as the first author.

With such dazzling achievements, Zong Qiugang said that his secret is to study hard. He requires himself to work at least 100 hours a week. "It is difficult for you to prove that you are smarter than others, but it is easy for you to prove that you work harder than others."

Committed to the construction of domestic periodicals

In 2007, Zong Qiugang, a research scientist at the Space Physics Center of Boston University, was invited to teach in Peking University. "I am very grateful to the state for funding me to finish college. Now is the time for me to repay my motherland. " He said.

After returning home, Zong Qiugang lived in a temporary dormitory provided by Peking University. After staying abroad for more than ten years, I was not used to it at first, but the difficulties in life were quickly overcome. "I suffered so much when I was a child, and these are nothing. Ask not what your country has given you, ask what you have brought to your country. " He said.

"Seeing that our students are very powerful, we also have our own monitoring instruments, which can collect first-hand data. I am very proud. " Zong Qiugang said that there will always be difficulties, and the mission of scientists is to meet them.

In 20 16, Zong Qiugang used the self-developed "Peking University-Imaging Electron Spectrometer (BD-IES)" satellite detector to reveal the radial propagation mode of magnetospheric substorm energy electron injection. 20 16 applied for the national major scientific instrument and equipment development project, with the goal of developing the next generation particle imaging instrument-thousand-line array neutral atom imager. At the time of the interview, the project had entered the middle stage.

In addition to R&D tasks, Zong Qiugang also served as the editorial board of six academic magazines. Recently, he began to pay attention to periodicals. He said: "I want to run the periodicals of the motherland well."

In the eyes of students, Zong Qiugang is very strict, and he attaches great importance to students' "study hard". He said that modern people are impetuous, and most of them just want the last step, but in fact, after the long "moving bricks", there will be the last moment.