The planetary science undergraduate class was born, "the strongest major in the universe" what to learn
21/105
105 students participated in the enrollment of the planetary science undergraduate class, but only 40 students participated in the interview, and only 21 were finally admitted.
If you want to embark on the path of studying planets, you need to be supported by a strong interest.
"The training of undergraduate talents in planetary science is extremely urgent, so I can't do it anymore." On December 26, 2020, Li Chunhui, the class leader of the planetary science elite class at Chengdu University of Technology, told the reporter of Science and Technology Daily that the school established the country's first undergraduate class in the field of planetary science ( (Hereinafter referred to as the Elite Class) has completed the group class, and 21 students will officially start classes in the 2021 spring semester.
The construction of the planetary science discipline is an important foundation for promoting my country to become a power in deep space exploration and planetary science.
Therefore, it is imperative to build a perfect planetary science education system.
Chengdu University of Technology is the first to try first, to train undergraduate talents in planetary science from scratch, explore and improve the education and teaching system in the field of planetary science, cultivate more professional talents that meet the national strategic development and cutting-edge scientific needs, and improve my country's deep space exploration Scientific research capabilities and international influence.
Students who can stay have a "planetary dream"
Planetary science, some students think it is to go to the moon to "pick up rocks", some students think it is just a branch of physics or geography... In fact, planetary science is to study the basic characteristics of planets, satellites, comets and other celestial bodies and planetary systems and their formation And the science of evolution.
Planetary science uses deep space exploration as the main research method, and consists of earth sciences, space sciences, and astronomy.
Many students want to try this "high-level" subject.
But in fact, the enrollment of planetary science students is very different from that of undergraduates.
Planetary science graduates are built on the basis of years of study, have a deep understanding of this subject, can clarify their own willingness to apply for the exam, and can stick to it after getting started.
But undergraduate students are different. They have not experienced four years of undergraduate "experience". If you want to embark on this path from the beginning, you need to be supported by a strong interest.
In September 2020, the elite class selected about 20 aspiring young people for the freshmen of the school, and a total of 105 students participated in the registration.
But the students who are really interested in this subject don't even get half of it.
"Since we started the campus promotion of the planetary science elite class, 105 people have registered and nearly 40 people participated in the interview, and 21 people were finally admitted." Li Chunhui told reporters that 105 people signed up, but only 43 students submitted themselves as required. The statement shows the actual intention.
Finally, 40 students participated in the interview session arranged by the school.
And this interview is not just a "make a face-to-face meeting". The school has arranged a 15-minute interview time and a special interview "50 questions" for each student.
The "50 Questions" in the interview were carefully selected by many teachers. The questions involved all aspects of learning, personal ability, personality, life, and future planning.
"The ones who can really stay are the students with the'planetary dream'." Li Chunhui said.
"When I was young, I could see the starry night sky, the lonely and romantic planet depicted in "The Little Prince", and the shocking vast universe in the movie. I couldn't help but want to explore the mysteries." The first planetary science talent Class student Cui Xinyue said that now that the opportunity has come, she is willing to do her best to explore this field and give an explanation to her ideals.
Among the 21 students in the final group of the elite class, Xing Guixin, who joined the planetary science major in Japanese, caught the attention of reporters.
She said: "I entered an irrelevant major because I am very interested in planetary science, and the country lacks relevant professionals. I hope to contribute to the country's development in this field in the future."
Natural advantages let them "go on the road first"
At present, my country's deep-space exploration is developing rapidly and has achieved world-renowned achievements, and it has become a rising deep-space exploration power.
However, my country's planetary science discipline has just started. Without a systematic talent training system, it is difficult to match the in-depth implementation needs of the national deep space exploration strategic plan.
In fact, my country's exploration of planetary science education has already begun to sprout.
On February 8, 2018, the School of Earth Sciences of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences officially changed its name to the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Wu Fuyuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, dean of the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and director of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed the establishment of a first-level discipline in planetary science.
On December 4, 2018, the first-level discipline construction demonstration meeting of planetary science was held at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
At that time, the 25 judges who participated in the meeting came from 20 domestic units, including 3 members of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and 3 academicians. The experts at the meeting unanimously stated: Based on the development trend of the discipline and the urgency of the national deep space exploration strategy for talents, we need to step up Build a first-level discipline of planetary science and cultivate China's own deep space exploration talents.
The meeting unanimously recommended that the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences take the lead in building a first-level discipline in planetary science.
On the morning of January 6, 2019, the 11th meeting of the Fourth Degree Evaluation Committee of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences reviewed and approved the application for the cultivation of the first-level discipline construction of planetary science. After that, the discipline construction of planetary science officially began.
Although there was no planetary science subject in the national subject setting before, the first-class domestic universities such as the University of Science and Technology of China and Peking University have conducted graduate students in planetary science under such disciplines as geophysics, geology, and space physics in an interdisciplinary manner. education.
Why should Chengdu University of Technology set up an undergraduate class in planetary science first?
"Graduate education in planetary sciences is equivalent to letting a tree that has become fruitful. Undergraduate education is more like planting a seed and cultivating it to become a talent." Li Chunhui said that education in basic subjects is very important, so planetary science Undergraduate education must have someone "go on the road first." Chengdu University of Technology is very suitable as the "starting point" of this road.
As one of the high-level talent training and scientific research bases of China's earth sciences, Chengdu University of Technology has traditional advantages in geology, energy, and resource science.
"The earth itself is a planet, so it is easier for people in earth sciences to grow into planetary scientists." Li Chunhui said that earth science is the foundation of planetary science and Chengdu University of Technology has resource advantages.
It is understood that Chengdu University of Technology has established an International Research Center for Planetary Science to hire academic leaders to carry out planetary science research and teaching.
The International Research Center for Planetary Sciences is a scientific research and talent training institution established with renowned planetary scientist Professor Liu Yun as the chief scientist, and renowned planetary chemistry and geochemist Professor Zhang Zhaofeng and planetary deep physicist Professor Sun Xinlei as the main academic leaders.
"The establishment of the elite class is not only a major breakthrough in improving the training system for top-notch talents in planetary science in my country, but also a major measure for the cultivation of double-class talents in our school." said Professor Liu Yun, head of the International Research Center for Planetary Sciences.
The curriculum is in line with international standards and has its own characteristics
In 1972, Arizona State University established the first Department of Planetary Science, marking the beginning of the planetary science talent training system.
The department is committed to teaching basic and professional courses related to planetary science, and cultivating planetary science professionals at all levels from undergraduate to postgraduate.
Since then, many universities in the world have begun to offer courses in the field of planetary science.
Li Chunhui told reporters that the school systematically investigated the establishment of planetary science-related courses in five universities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
These five foreign universities have all offered basic courses such as mineralogy, petrology, and structural geology; emphasized the importance of computer simulation and offered relevant courses; and offered specialized courses related to astronomy such as planetary surface and atmosphere.
The elite class opened this time is highly consistent with the planetary science major of foreign first-class universities in the core of the curriculum design concept.
"In our training program, sufficient hours are given to earth science courses, and the teaching of basic courses such as mathematics, physics and chemistry and computer science is also highlighted." Li Chunhui said.
In terms of professional core courses, the undergraduate training program of planetary science comprehensively covers all current frontier research directions of planetary science, including introduction to planetary science, meteorology and cosmology, planetary dynamics, celestial mechanics, space physics, etc. Curriculum is currently the main frontier branch of planetary science research and an important foundation for promoting students' in-depth development in this field.
"In addition, the undergraduate training program of planetary science also covers some elective courses, which makes up for the shortcomings of basic courses in physics and chemistry, and the shortcomings of professional core courses in systematic aspects." Li Chunhui said, not only that, the training program also includes There are some personalized education courses, which will set up pre-courses for students' follow-up study, reserve knowledge for interdisciplinary study, and cultivate professional skills for students' employment and entrepreneurship.
At the same time, the training program also has a 27-week intensive practice course, including geological practice, planetary practice, graduation practice and thesis, etc., while controlling credits, guaranteeing class hours for students and strengthening students' practical ability.
It is worth noting that this training program has specially opened theoretical and experimental planetary science introduction and near-Earth object system research courses. This is a course jointly discussed by experts from the school, and it is also a course that has not yet been established abroad.
Li Di reporter Yong Li