Zhejiang University of Technology, a non-key university, has two research papers published in Nature in one year. Alumni are calling it: It needs a 211 title

Yang Jing from Aofei Temple
Quantum Bit Report | Public Account QbitAI

It is already unusual that four papers from Chinese universities were published in Nature on the same day.

Unexpectedly, among the four selected papers, there is also a paper on atmospheric physics. Since its main author and corresponding author are from Zhejiang University of Technology , this non-key university is listed alongside Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Chinese Academy of Sciences in the signing units, thus gaining more attention and even igniting the alumni community.

Many alumni of Zhejiang University of Technology sent their congratulatory messages, and even more current students felt proud. The message area of ​​Quantum位 was filled with walls of congratulatory messages from alumni.

Although it was unexpected, it was also reasonable.

On the one hand, compared with the research of other universities, this paper in which Zhejiang University of Technology participated was submitted two years ago, and it was not easy for it to be published in Nature after passing the review.

On the other hand, this non-key university and its scholars also obtained the best certification with their results published in top journals.

What exactly is this research?

First, let’s take a look at the specific content of the research.

The study is titled:

Large Chinese land carbon sink estimated from atmospheric carbon dioxide data .

The study provides data on the mole fraction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured from six sites in China between 2009 and 2016, including vegetation and soil data measured using carbon satellite remote sensing technology.

Using these data, the researchers estimated that average carbon emissions from China's terrestrial biosphere were -11.1±3.8 billion tons between 2010 and 2016, equivalent to approximately 45% of China's annual anthropogenic emissions during this period.

This estimate reflects the previously underestimated carbon sink in terrestrial forests throughout the year in Southwest China (Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces) and during the summer months in Northeast China (especially Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces).

At present, they have formed a trend of rapid afforestation and gradual expansion of forest areas.

The provincial forest area in these regions increased by 4,000 to 5,000 hectares.

What is the concept of carbon sink? We must first understand the carbon source.

Carbon sink and carbon source are two relative concepts.

To put it simply, carbon source is the source of carbon dioxide, which comes from both nature and emissions from human daily life.

Forests absorb and store carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This process is called carbon sink.

People often solve this problem through measures such as afforestation, forest management, and vegetation restoration.

Researchers used a variety of data to study the carbon balance in China, such as measuring vegetation greenness and soil water availability through carbon satellite remote sensing technology; measuring atmospheric data to infer carbon dioxide flux.

Satellite observations of vegetation greenness during the study period showed a significant increase over time, supporting an increase in land carbon sinks in these afforestation areas, the authors say.

What kind of team?

One of the main authors of this research team and the corresponding author of the paper is Fang Shuangxi , a professor at the School of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology .

In addition, he is also a researcher at the Meteorological Observation Center of the China Meteorological Administration, a member and writing expert of the World Meteorological Organization's Global Greenhouse Gas Information Program, and the main author of the Methodological Guidelines for the Preparation of National Greenhouse Gas Inventories of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

△ Image source: Scientific Chinese

In 1998, he was admitted to Wuhan University and studied in the Department of Environmental Science for undergraduate studies.

He then went to the Eco-Environmental Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences to conduct research.

In 2015, he officially became a researcher at the Meteorological Observation Center of the China Meteorological Administration.

In 2019, he joined Zhejiang University of Technology as a professor in the School of Environment.

He has presided over the national key research and development project "Multi-target Greenhouse Gas Measurement Technology", which is a key project with a funding of tens of millions.

In addition to relatively low installation and operating costs, compared with the single concentration observation of foreign products, it can realize the observation of multiple gas concentrations such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Professor Fang Shuangxi has been deeply engaged in atmospheric observation for many years and has witnessed the gradual formation of domestic greenhouse gas networked observations. He has also established several innovative greenhouse gas background observation systems.

In a public interview, Professor Fang Shuangxi said that his work focus will still be on conducting atmospheric background observations.

In addition to the research and development of efficient systems, he also actively tried new methods, using a sampler mounted on a balloon device to conduct direct sampling and observation of greenhouse gas profiles, providing direct observation data verification for my country's carbon satellite remote sensing.

He has won the second prize of Zhejiang Province Science and Technology Progress Award; the "Young Talent" award of the China Meteorological Administration; and the "Outstanding Youth" award of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences.

At the beginning of last year, Fang Shuangxi, a researcher at the Meteorological Observation Center of the China Meteorological Administration and the main spokesperson for greenhouse gas observation research, answered questions about the reasons for the rise in global carbon dioxide concentrations and the value of my country's independent carbon satellite observations.

△ Image source: Scientific Chinese

In addition to Fang Shuangxi's team, this article was also jointly completed by Liu Yi's team from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Paul Palmer's team from the University of Edinburgh.

It is worth noting that publishing such a paper is not easy.

This study was received in March 2018 and approved in August this year.

The first author is Wang Jing (transliteration) , a doctoral student at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences . She once visited Paul Palmer's team at the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh for one year.

The corresponding authors include Professor Fang Shuangxi from Zhejiang University of Technology, Professor Liu Yi from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Paul Palmer from the University of Edinburgh.

So strictly speaking, this paper is inseparable from the contribution of Zhejiang University of Technology, but it is also the result of cooperation among multiple other schools and institutions.

But no matter what, it is indeed a great encouragement for a university like Zhejiang University of Technology that rarely stands in the spotlight.

It is also time to introduce this low-key and powerful university which ranks 100th in all major lists but is neither a 985 nor a 211.

Zhejiang University of Technology: Non-key university, ranked in the top 100 in major rankings

Zhejiang University of Technology was founded in 1953 and just celebrated its 67th birthday two weeks ago.

The university's strengths are mainly in engineering disciplines, especially in the fields of chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, and pharmaceutical engineering.

Well-known alumni in the academic field, such as Zhou Guangyao , an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert in inorganic chemistry ; Xu Guangxian , an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the father of Chinese rare earth chemistry ...

Li Shouheng , the founder of China's chemical industry ; Shen Yinchu, the father of China's green pesticides and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was once the president of this university.

In the industry, Tong Zhiyuan, CEO of Volvo China of Geely Group , is also an alumnus of Zhejiang University of Technology.

In the latest US News 2021 World University Rankings, Zhejiang University of Technology ranks 74th among domestic universities.

In the Times Higher Education World University Subject Rankings 2021, engineering ranked 58th among domestic universities.

In the Nature Index 2020 annual tables released on April 30 this year, Zhejiang University of Technology performed outstandingly.

It ranks 271st among international universities in 2020 and 53rd among universities in mainland China, with a growth rate of 80.3% from 2018 to 2019 .

In the Soft Science Ranking of World-Class Disciplines, Zhejiang University of Technology performed outstandingly, with a total of 17 disciplines on the list, ranking second only to Shenzhen University in the list of non-key universities.

In the field of environmental science and engineering where Fang Shuangxi is studying, the university ranks 30th among universities in mainland China.

In addition, Zhejiang University of Technology has also made certain breakthroughs in the humanities in recent years.

In May this year, the school achieved a breakthrough in publishing zero papers in Nature in the field of humanities and social sciences .

Professor Shen Qiang from the Institute of Neuromanagement Science and the Department of Business Administration of the School of Management of Zhejiang University of Technology, and his 2019 doctoral student in business administration "Fu Shiguang" published a paper titled "Variability in the analysis of a single neuroimaging dataset by many teams" in Nature as a co- author .

Therefore, I can better understand the pride of Zhejiang University of Technology alumni. After all, they are really underestimated because of their low-key style.

An alumnus of Zhejiang University of Technology left a message saying: It lacks the title of 211.

Reference links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2849-9
https://www.sohu.com/a/326425478_473428