If we cast ourselves back to 30 years ago, when bikes were the main mode of transport and mobile phones were an exclusive luxury, no one could imagine a life where people frequently travel by air and smart phones dominate peoples’ daily life. Within 30 years, the whole world has witnessed unprecedented changes that influence every aspect of human life. What about the next 30 years? What breakthroughs will be made and what roles will they play in our lives?
If you dare to conceive of a new technology and prove its validity, then you would be a perfect candidate for “30 Years in the Future”—an Imagination and Innovation Contest. Recently, the Awards Ceremony of “30 Years in the Future”—an Imagination and Innovation Contest was held in the Student Activity Center of Tianjin University for the recognition of students’ bold and creative imaginations. Zhong Denghua, president of Tianjin University, as well as other school leaders and students were invited to share this amazing feast of brainstorming.
10 teachers were selected as “Outstanding instructors of innovation programs” and 10 teachers were honored as “The best instructors of innovation programs”. Tianjin University leaders presented awards to these teachers and expressed gratitude for their excellent guidance.
10 projects stood out from the 243 projects that entered and won first prize in the contest, including wireless energy transmission, aircrafts being sent into the ionosphere, miniaturized satellites and so on. Some of them were presented during the ceremony, which gave the activity an exciting and expectant atmosphere. The team leader of the project “wireless energy transmission” shared their main ideas. He said that wireless energy transmission, with low frequency (﹤1MHz), remote control (﹥10m), high power (﹥10kW) and high efficiency (﹥70%), was expected to be a leading technology in the next 30 years. After he introduced how the technology worked and would facilitate people’s lives in the future, the audience was surprised by its power and applauded him for his imagination. At the end of his lecture, he hoped that the key technology of wireless energy transmission would be realized earlier and that he would also make his contribution to this field.
Professor He Mingxia, from the School of Precise Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering of Tianjin University, was invited to share her feelings as a professor and one of the judges of this contest. “The contest involves various scientific fields, ranging from the atmosphere to the ocean, to the heart of human beings. Looking back on my experience, the most important thing is that you need to have a dream deep in your heart, that’s why, I think, these students could conceive of these projects.” She also hoped that students in Tianjin University will conduct more research on cutting-edge science, as she believes it involves a kind of courage and persistence.
By: Zhao Han
Photo: Zhao Han
Editors: Qin Mian and Christopher Peter Clarke
