A hundred years ago, consciousness was first awakened. The young students of Wenliang went to France and Japan to break through the dead waters of the old times and to clean up the mountains and rivers for the next hundred years.
A hundred years later, the starving people are no more and the smoke has faded, but the spirit of youth is still passed on from generation to generation. As Mr. Li Dazhao wrote in his book "Youth", "We should go forward and not look back, turn our backs on the darkness and turn to the light, advance civilisation for the world and create happiness for mankind. With my youthful self, I will create a youthful family, a youthful country, a youthful nation, a youthful human being, a youthful earth, a youthful universe, and a youthful life to enjoy."
Nowadays, the testing industry is full of wind and talent, and young scholars and researchers have emerged to undertake the potential of the industry and create a youthful style again. This time, Chemical Instruments Network invited Zhao Yingfei, Manager of ICP Spectroscopy Manufacturing Department of Steel Research Nack Testing Technology Co Ltd, to share his exciting life.
A love affair, fifteen years of experience
A spectroscopy instrument is a photoelectric instrument designed for spectroscopic research and analysis of the structure and composition of substances, using the principle of optical dispersion and modern advanced electronic technology. It plays an important role in the fields of resource surveying, scientific exploration, physical chemistry, biological medicine, environmental protection and food testing by determining the spectral composition of an object, including intensity, wavelength and profile.
As the manager of the ICP spectroscopy instrument manufacturing department, Zhao Yingfei did not enter the analytical instrument industry right from the start. Talking about the opportunity to enter the spectroscopy industry, Zhao Yingfei gave a beat and said, "I am very grateful to my wife."
After graduating from Jilin University in 2003 with a degree in measurement and control technology and instrumentation, Zhao Yingfei entered the geophysical exploration industry. This was Zhao's first formal contact with a large number of measurement and control instruments and equipment. As a young man, he was thirsty for fresh knowledge. The large amount of precipitation in the early stages prepared him for the change of career later on.
Long-lasting love is mostly an even match. In 2007, he followed his lover's footsteps to Beijing, where he was guided into the field of spectroscopy, and has been working on the development of plasma spectrometers ever since. "My lover is my guide in this industry." Love and dreams both shouted loudly.
In 2009, the world was still in the grip of the economic crisis. By this time, Zhao Yingfei had already worked in the ICP spectroscopy field for two years and had a certain level of knowledge and experience. When he was looking for a better job opportunity, he was offered an olive branch by SteelRock.
Thinking about the time when he joined SteelRock, Zhao Yingfei can still remember it vividly. "Steel Research Nanak is a second-tier unit of a central enterprise, and the analytical instrumentation has become famous in China, developing rapidly, and at that time also began to layout the ICP industry." With only a few comments, Zhao Yingfei's love for Steel Research Nanak speaks for itself. SteelRock's vision of "being the guide and promoter of China's analytical testing industry" appealed to Zhao Yingfei, who wanted to enter a more professional level. From the development direction and strategic layout to the leadership charisma and corporate culture, this young man was determined to join the company.
Thirteen years have passed in a flash and Zhao Yingfei is still working in the ICP spectroscopy field. The growth space given by the company has allowed him to improve significantly in both technical and management aspects, and the young man has become more and more stable.
As for his future work, Zhao Yingfei said, "I hope to continue to work hard in the field of ICP spectroscopy and solve the problem of domestic substitution. At the same time I would love to be able to help NAK and domestic instruments to have better development from more dimensions."
Overcoming difficulties, witnessing the glory of domestic instruments
In recent years, although the analysis and testing instruments gradually on the right track, but foreign instrument companies still force head. According to Zhao Yingfei, China's annual fixed investment in scientific research, imported equipment accounted for 65%, the import rate of mass spectrometry, spectroscopy instruments is as high as 90%, a large number of analysis and testing instruments rely on foreign imports of the pattern has not yet changed, seriously restricting the development of scientific research in China.
With the overall technology lagging two generations behind, the task of completing the original technology development of domestic instruments was arduous. For Zhao Yingfei in that period, it can be described as opening a path in every mountain and building a bridge when encountering water, hard chiselling the way forward for domestic analysis and testing instruments, allowing a large number of scientific research projects to take root. "Whether it was the solid-state light source technology that was overcome, the two-dimensional spectroscopic system and the high-speed low-noise detection system acquisition technology, or the new two-way observation full-spectrum direct-reading ICP spectrometer that came out at the 2017 BCEIA exhibition, the praise from international exhibitors made me feel that China's scientific instruments had really progressed, and at that moment I felt a special sense of pride in my heart ".
One of the most groundbreaking achievements was the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and spectrometer, which Zhao Yingfei summed up in the word "unforgettable". It is not only multi-element, with good measurement stability and low detection limits, but is also the first commercialised testing instrument in China. The word "commercialisation", a high-frequency word that is now rolling around in the promotional videos of major industries, is a very different model in the scientific testing instrument industry.
Outsiders see the fun, insiders see the doorway. It is a long process for a scientific instrument to move from R&D to the market. Zhao Yingfei believes that it is necessary to feel the doorway and then work on it, returning to commercial thinking. "I think the first commercialised testing instrument in China refers to the first phase of the National Major Scientific Instruments and Equipment Special Project undertaken by Steel Research Nacre, which initiated the research and development and launched the whole product in the market. This marketable product is no longer limited to beating the technical principles of the project, but from the customer needs, the pursuit of marketability of the product is burned into the minds of the R&D staff before the project is established, while focusing on engineering industrialisation and marketing to make a truly commercialisable product."
Forging ahead in search of industry spring
In 2020, the blockbuster of history comes crashing down on us, and dramatic reality pales in comparison to any images. The world landscape is in turmoil, the new crown virus is ravaging the world, heroic cities are dying for 76 days and nights, and eight parties are running to support them, a year in which everyone becomes a protagonist in the turbine of history. Not surprisingly, the scientific testing instrument industry was also hit. However, the national help and policy response shone like a light rising from the darkness.
Referring to the epidemic period, Zhao Yingfei said "the epidemic still had a significant impact on our work". According to Zhao Yingfei, production had to be disinfected twice a day during the epidemic, and the trip was interrupted at any time in the event of an emergency and isolated in situ. However, under the severe circumstances, SteelRock's employees still overcame difficulties and completed their tasks with distinction. A new high-resolution spectrometer with a spectral resolution of up to 6 pm was launched in 2020 to meet high-resolution application scenarios while also providing customers with more flexible options. In addition, R&D and production were both on track, with sales and production of the series increasing by 50% compared to 2019.
If the breakthrough during the epidemic was a small test, the new R&D tasks were the real challenge. Zhao Yingfei said that SteelRock has been laying out the instrument market for inductively coupled plasma since 10 years ago, and the ICP spectrometry instrument manufacturing department has created a professional team with the mission of providing high-quality ICP products and perfect solutions to achieve product and service iterations. The key technologies for the next generation of ICP spectrometers have been validated and will be available shortly.
Zhao Yingfei is very optimistic about the localisation of components for domestic instruments. He understands that some imported components are also used in the instruments developed by the company, but these key components are on the way and some results have been achieved so far. With the support of national policy on key components, the localisation of imported components will be completed in about five years.
On May 4, it is time to cultivate one's body and family, and to rule the country and the world
Youth in China and the world is a powerful romantic song. A hundred years ago, Mr Lu Xun promised young people that "those who can do something should do something, those who can make a sound should make a sound, those who have a bit of heat should make a bit of light, just like a firefly, which can make a bit of light in the darkness without waiting for a torch. After that, if there is no torch flame: I am the only light."
Today, Zhao Yingfei expresses his expectations for young people by quoting the phrase, "to be true to oneself, to be sincere and righteous, to cultivate one's body and family, to rule one's country and to level the world". "I think this phrase is a good explanation of the qualities required of young talents."
Zhao Yingfei believes that the first thing to do is to find a hobby, a hobby to have a long-term motivation. And the analytical instrument industry involves optics, machinery, electronics, computer software and hardware, analytical chemistry and other disciplines, only hobby first, in order to grow into a comprehensive talent in multiple disciplines. Secondly, success lies in persistence. The development cycle of an instrument is usually 3 to 5 years, and this process requires solving several key technical problems. Only long-term efforts and a realistic attitude can lead to breakthroughs.
"Finally, I think it is important to have a market-oriented concept and a sense of innovation, to fully understand the market demand and to achieve the target. Analytical instruments belong to high-tech industry, which is in urgent need of talents, and there is a shortage of real analytical instrument talents in China, which is also one of the bottlenecks restricting the development of scientific instruments in China. Here, I very much welcome more young people to join the analytical instrument industry and contribute to the development of the industry." Zhao Yingfei added.
Postscript: In Zhao Yingfei's eyes, instrumentation is the ultimate pursuit of beauty. Now he is deeply involved in the analytical instrument industry, sticking to the front line of research and development, moving forward with a steaming ideal, never forgetting where he came from, remembering where he came from, and devoting himself to the "beauty" of instruments. He is just like a competitor in a swimming pool, paying for the final victory with sweat and tears, enduring the waves of victory and setting an example for the youth in the instrumentation industry. In the future, Zhao Yingfei and his team will continue to follow the path of cooperation and independent research and development to contribute to the scientific and technological progress of our country.
Personal Achievements
First Prize of Metallurgical Science and Technology of the Chinese Society for Metals in 2020.
2019 Second Prize of Science and Technology of Beijing Municipality.
2019 First Prize of Science and Technology of Shanghai.
2019 Gold Award for Independent Innovation.
2019 BCEIA Gold Award.
First Prize, Rare Earth Science and Technology Award, 2018.
Gold Award for Independent Innovation 2015.
Original title: instrument youth say: thirteen years of spring and autumn baptism, cast spectroscopic instrument research and development Kunpeng's will
