The School of Materials Science and Engineering, ZJU has held a materials microstructure exploration contest since March of 2010. Eleven contests have been held to great success as of now, attracting over 800 students, and is a collegiate-level brand activity. This contest follows the theme of "exploring the microstructure of materials and uncovering sources of fascination". It encourages the students to innovatively express and reveal the fascinating world of materials microstructure using optical or electronic microscopes. This contest's goal is to improve the artistic tastes of any student majoring in science or engineering, including their art percipient, skills to express and ability to annotate the humanistic spirit, and enrich their humanistic connotations by the means of combining science with the arts while innovating fascinating works.
From the monograph of Science is Like Flowers published in Zhejiang Daily, submitted in the first contest, to the monograph published in Chinese Science News, which reported on the third contest using three continuous columns on a full page, this contest has received increasing attention from the media, and set off a boom around campus. Besides the students from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, this contest has also attracted students from the Department of Polymer Science, School of Photoelectricity, School of Chemical Engineering, Physics Department, and other colleges. Moreover, the students from other brother universities or colleges, such as Hangzhou Dianzi University, Huzhou Normal College, and Taizhou College, are also involved. Dalian University of Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and other domestic brother universities have contacted us regarding contest details and recommend works to participate in this activity.
In addition, excellent works with abundant ideological value, vibrant artistic value, or pioneering scientific value have been made into various cultural artifacts like postcards, calendars, and more. A larger number of exhibitors have submitted on websites, new media platforms, live shows, or other means to carry forward socialist core values; spread new principles seeking truth, goodness, and beauty; and finally realize the goal of cultivating people with culture.
The contest of materials microstructure exploration is not only a journey of crossing science and arts, but also a successful attempt to combine professional knowledge with the construction of campus culture. When it comes to spreading culture, this contest generates many excellent photographs of microstructure art, and award winners including postgraduate students, undergraduate students, and overseas students from the International Education College. Moreover, it has comprehensively promoted the humanistic quality inherent in students. For science popularization, with a follow-up of mass science media, it has enlarged the social impact of materials science, carried forward the spirit of scientific ingenuity, and contributed to the promotion of the public's scientific literacy. For scientific research, some original works from this contest are important achievements in scientific research, which have been published by international leading journals like The Journal of American Chemistry Society.
by Hanglong WU (Graduate Student of MSE)
by Xiaobo XIANG (Graduate Student of MSE)
by Yingxia YU (Graduate Student of MSE)
by Qinqin XIONG (Graduate Student of MSE)
by Yajun HOU (Graduate Student of MSE)
by Xiaobo XIANG (Graduate Student of MSE)