Duan Xiudong is a doctoral student in Grade 2021 at School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, with a research interest in micro-fluidic single-cell analysis technology. Since 2015, he has been immersed in CUG for nine years, which is characterized by ascending to the heaven and descending to earth, going into the sea and climbing the peak.
In academic research, he adheres to the spirit of climbing, and has published six SCI (T1, TOP) papers, including two as first author and four as second author, two T2 papers, one T3 paper, one international conference paper, and seven authorized invention patents. He focused on comprehensive development, he has won the third place in Hubei Provincial Frisbee Championship, the champion of CUG Graduate Student Basketball Match, the bronze medal of Hubei "Entrepreneurship Youth" College Student Entrepreneurship Competition, and Challenge Cup Competition for 2 times, made oral presentations at international conferences for 4 times, visited and studied at Hanyang University in South Korea, and was awarded a full scholarship by the University College London (QS Global Top 10).
Illustrious virtue: Committed to National Defense and Public Welfare
Duan Xiudong is committed to national defense and dedicates his youth to the green military camp. When he graduated from high school, Duan Xiudong decided to join the national defense students. From the front line of the ceremony, to be selected for the physical fitness training team, every day morning and evening training, every sore and bleeding body, in exchange for every assessment of the results of the full excellence. With excellent physical fitness and excellent performance, he was awarded the title of “excellent national defense students”, was awarded the first-class principal medal, and in the central China national defense students in the summer base training was awarded the military training outstanding individual; and then as a newborn military training instructor, will be a strong military dream, the Chinese dream into practice, and effectively carry forward the spirit of patriotism and the strong military, the training squad Won the first place in the separate ceremony.
Devoted to national defense, and dedicating youth to green military camps. When he graduated from high school, Duan Xiudong decided to join the national defense student team. From being a pacesetter in a formation to being selected for the special physical fitness training team, the continuous training every day and every sore and bleeding point were rewarded with excellent results in every assessment. With excellent physical fitness and outstanding performance, he was awarded the title of "Outstanding National Defense Student", the First Class Principal Medal, and was named an Outstanding Individual in Military Training during the summer base training for national defense students in Central China. Then as a military training instructor for new students, he put into practice the dream of a strong army and the Chinese dream, effectively carried forward the spirit of patriotism and strong army. His training formation won the first place in the division.
Four years of experience as a national defense student has cultivated his upright style and forged his sense of responsibility to society. After half a year of closed training and competition elimination, he won the fourth place in the first national social emergency response force skills competition, and volunteered to join the national emergency rescue system and was awarded the title of “national main social emergency response force” by the Ministry of Emergency Management. During the COVID-19, as a research volunteer of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, he worked more than 10 hours a day in the harsh environment of the plateau at an altitude of over 4,000m, observing, recording and researching more than 700 wild animals, and practicing the protection of biodiversity, and he was honored as the outstanding Communist Party member of the university.
During his PhD period, he served as a propaganda committee member of the party branch, he centered on the theme of “Strengthening the Country through Science and Technology”, focused on “thought empowerment, organization empowerment, and scientific research empowerment”, and formed a regular mechanism for "BA-MA-PhD" party members to share their growth experiences in "My Growth in CUG". Through a series of activities such as the "Frontier Technology Forum" and the "Year-end Academic Achievement Comparison", interdisciplinary exchanges have been comprehensively enhanced, and the branch members have published 14 high-level SCI papers and obtained 10 patents. In recent years, the branch has been awarded the title of "Advanced Student Party Branch" by the university; one person has been honored as China's Positive and Kind-Hearted Young People, three have been awarded the National Scholarship for Doctoral Students, and three have been recognized as outstanding Communist Party members by the university.
Scholarly research: expert in a field of study and be inclusive
Five years ago, in the practical course of machine manufacturing, Duan Xiudong found that using a sawing machine for manual feeding and processing of round steel materials was inefficient and wasteful, and thus he designed and manufactured a fixed-length automatic feeding device based on an ordinary sawing machine. The device adopted parallel four-bar mechanism and V-block clamping to realize simultaneous delivery of multiple rods and fixed-length automatic feeding. For the project, he has published one CSCD core journal paper and has been granted two invention patents. The sense of achievement brought by this creative thinking process inspired his strong will to explore and seek knowledge. His academic journey thus set sail.
After he was admitted to the School of Physical Education, known as the “Huangpu Military Academy of Outdoor Sports”, through a cross disciplinary recommendation program, with the support of Prof. Dong Fan, the former dean, he actively integrated mechanical and sports engineering and boldly attempted in the field of outdoor sports, making innovative designs such as integrated ice cone components, modular rope protectors, and dynamically wrapped quick release tactical vests, which have been widely recognized by teachers and practitioners. As the first inventor, he has been authorized 5 invention patents, won 2 bronze prizes in the Hubei "Entrepreneurship Youth" College Student Entrepreneurship Competition and Challenge Cup Competition, participated in the writing of a monograph, and completed his master's degree one year ahead of schedule.
Rejecting comfort for self-sublimation; brewing fragrant flowers by bitter cold. He bravely jumped out of the comfort zone, pursued his doctoral degree in advance in another school, and continued to climb the academic peak. The subject of his research, microfluidics, is an emerging interdisciplinary field that integrates the functions of large instruments and complex biochemical processing programs into microchips. Faced with the challenge of lack of relevant knowledge, like a mountaineer, he persevered step by step on his academic journey, starting from scratch, reading cutting-edge literature, learning experimental skills, refining research questions, and organizing research ideas. After two years of hard work and explorations, has published six SCI (T1, TOP) papers, including two as first author and four as second author, two T2 papers, one T3 paper, one international conference paper, and seven authorized invention patents.
His supervisor, Prof. Song Chao long, has always encouraged him to open up the international vision and carry out cutting-edge research, just as climbing is not only about conquering peaks, but also about daring to explore unknown fields and perceive different magnificent views. He has made 4 presentations at top national and international conferences, actively showcasing and humbly communicating. With the support of the international exchange program of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, he went to Hanyang University (Top 5 in Korea) for exchange and study, to continuously develop his academic horizons, and to refine his innovative thinking. In 2024, after a selection process, he was awarded the Full Access Scholarship by University College London (QS Global Top 10).
Sincere behavior: exploring the deep sea and climbing the peak
Since his undergraduate admission in 2015, Duan Xiudong has been studying in CUG for nine years. The climbing spirit of "bravely climbing peaks and pursuing excellence" silently resonated with him, and he deeply felt that life is an exploration and climbing.
In his spare time, he extensively tried and developed comprehensively, winning the third place in the Hubei Frisbee Championship, the championship in the graduate basketball tournament of CUG, the PADI advanced diver, and the national intermediate outdoor instructor. As the project leader of the municipal sports games in Kunshan City and Wuhan City, the national fitness and outdoor sports activities organized by him have attracted over 1000 participants and received extensive media coverage. As a camp mentor, he has visited five cities including Xi'an, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Hangzhou, where he has eaten, lived, traveled, and studied with over 700 teenagers, igniting his wisdom and nurturing his character.
In August 2020, he reached the summit of Mount Siguniang at an altitude of 5355 meters. Now, standing at the base camp at the foot of the mountain, he is ready to take on new challenges and ascend to the peak of academia and life.