Twelve students from the Classes of 2012 and 2013 of Kuang Yaming Hornors School, led by their teachers Zou Dawei and Tang Jian, visited Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, from August 22 to 30, 2015.
The students spent five days at Duke University experiencing a week of study and life at an American university. In addition to the lectures and tours on various disciplines arranged for them, they had free time every day to attend classes and experience the differences in teaching between Nanjing University and Duke University.
During the various lectures, they listened carefully and took notes. The lectures covered a wide range of topics from the introduction to Duke’s Department of Physics and Department of Chemistry to medical physics and brain science, all of them helping the students open up their horizons of academic research. During the Q&A sessions after lectures, students also actively asked questions and communicated with the professor to gain further understanding of the lectures. During the lunches and dinners with professors, they also had more detailed and in-depth communication face to face. Every student benefited a lot from the distinguished professors.
During the exchange program, the students also visited Duke's accelerator lab, gamma ray source lab, materials chemistry lab, and Duke University Hospital and gained first-hand experience of the thinking process of scientific research and the authentic working environment of the scientists. In addition, they also walked around almost every corner of Duke University in their spare time, such as the deep Duke Forest and the Nasher Museum of Art. In this way, they not only learned about Duke through oral introductions, but also experience in person an academic atmosphere and culture that was different from those back at home.
What impressed them most was the Duke students’ commitment to study and their rigorous attitude towards academic research. They felt amazed that wherever they went, they saw students studying in the hall of the Physics Building, they saw different drafts on the blackboards in the hallways each day and they saw students reading even when they were taking a walk. Even though the 12 exchange students had stood out in many international contests, they all felt deeply impressed by American students’ commitment to study.
Although the trip was short, it sparked the students’ enthusiasm for learning. It also helped them gain a direct understanding of the study on natural sciences during the exposure to a foreign culture. After this trip, the students will have better ideas about the choice of their research in the future and plans for their life. This trip will be an unforgettable memory of their university life.
A photo taken in front of the Physics Building (by Cristin Paul, Department of Physics, Duke University); special thanks to Connie Cox (second from the right), of the Department of Physics, for her careful arrangement
Written by Chen Jingjia, a student of Experimental Class for General Science, Class of 2013
September 10, 2015
