Yi Zhijian: if imagination becomes reality, deserts become "fertile fields"
2021-11-17
"We still don't know how frogs appear in the desert." Professor Yi Zhijian, vice president of Chongqing Jiaotong University, who won the title of "the most beautiful scientific and technological worker" in 2021, was very interested when talking about his scientific research experience. As he described, he was "very excited, surprised and cherished" when he won the honor. Yi Zhijian, born in 1963, studied solid mechanics in University and studied fracture mechanics. In 1988, Yi Zhijian went to Chongqing Jiaotong University to teach and began to contact concrete and other materials. In many years of research, Yi Zhijian found that it is possible to change the mechanical state of particulate matter. For example, sand may become a "soil" for storing water, air and nutrients, providing conditions for plant growth. After putting forward the idea of desertification in 2008, Yi Zhijian's team officially launched the research in 2009. After six or seven years of theoretical and laboratory research, Yi Zhijian's team went to the desert area to carry out field research in 2016. After several years of continuous attempts, the experimental area of "sand to soil" has expanded from the initial 25 mu to nearly 20000 mu in 2021. These experimental fields are distributed in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Sichuan, Hainan, the Middle East Some desert areas in Africa. In 2017, when "sand turns soil" first appeared in the media, this idea triggered a heated discussion on the Internet, and he also responded to some questions from netizens. For example, in the face of the query that "plants can grow when there is water in the desert, so the cost of desertification is too high and meaningless", Yi Zhijian explained that if there is only "water", it is still difficult for non desert plants to grow and rely on a lot of human and material resources to ensure their survival. However, after desertification, the growth of plants is surprisingly good, the root system is very developed, and the amount of water and fertilizer is also very economical, because the soil itself can keep water and fertilizer; If drought tolerant plants are planted, they can grow naturally without irrigation. For the statement that "the cost of sand changing soil is much higher than that of sand prevention and fixation", Yi Zhijian pointed out that this comparison is unreasonable, because "sand fixation" and "land reclamation" are different goals, so it is meaningless to discuss the cost. In 2017, when the hot discussion appeared, the mechanical Desertification Control Expert Symposium composed of more than a dozen experts concluded that "this research is a useful exploration in the field of desertification control and needs further in-depth research". Yi Zhijian agreed with this conclusion to the reporter of science and technology daily, "continue the experiment and let the scientific facts speak". The online discussion did not interfere with Yi Zhijian's pace. In the past four years, gratifying results have continuously appeared in the experimental field. In the research, the practical difficulties faced by Yi Zhijian's team come from other aspects. Yi Zhijian summarized these difficulties into three aspects: first, there is no financial support; second, it needs to go deep into the desert; third, for Yi Zhijian, this is a cross-border research. "In the face of many practical problems, it takes some interest and courage to do research," Yi Zhijian said with emotion. With the efforts and cooperation of Yi Zhijian's team, these problems have been overcome. During the planting and growing season, Yi Zhijian often takes weekends off to study in the desert. As a college teacher, Yi Zhijian also took out his biggest "professional welfare" summer vacation and spent it in Ulan Buhe desert, Inner Mongolia. "There's no need to go in winter vacation. It's cold and there are no plants there," Yi Zhijian said. Talking about his perception of desertification control, Yi Zhijian expressed his joy straightforwardly: "after years of efforts, when the desert became an oasis, my heart was very happy and worried about it every day. I didn't know how to describe it. In short, it was special happiness." the starting point of all this, It is the scientific research idea of Yi Zhijian's team: change the mechanical state of sand through particle constraint to make it have the properties of soil. During more than ten years of research, Yi Zhijian has witnessed that an idea in his mind has gradually become an oasis in the desert. He said that every scientific and technological worker would be very pleased with such testimony. From mechanics, the branch of physics, to material science, and then to ecological science, "from sand to soil" is not only a summary of the research content of Yi Zhijian's team, but also a portrayal of Yi Zhijian's academic career. Yi Zhijian has been on the road of interdisciplinary research and achievement transformation for many years. "This is definitely a cause that benefits the country and the people," Yi Zhijian concluded. (outlook new era)
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
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