“Believe in yourself whenever you face a challenge. No one will believe in you more,” explained Zhong Lin Wang. Speaking about the complexity of the path to new discoveries, he quoted the famous phrase of Louis Agassiz, a Swiss zoologist and naturalist: “Every scientific truth goes through three stages: first, people say it conflicts with the Bible; next, they say it has been discovered before; lastly, they say they always believed it,” noted Zhong Lin Wang. According to him, going through all three stages requires not only hard work, but also inspiration, curiosity and creativity to be able to look at an old problem from a new angle.
According to Zhong Lin Wang, an important component of success is also our willingness to cooperate. “We invite you to come to us, to cooperate, to learn something. Our doors are always open, we would be happy to welcome you. Welcome!”, summarised the founder of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems.
Ruzhu Wang, the laureate of the Global Energy Prize in the New Ways of Energy Application nomination, highlighted the basic principles that can help young scientists promote their inventions. “You must find a consumer, a customer for your technology. Who will be interested in this solution? Where to look for investors? Who will be willing to invest in your invention? These are the questions that need your answers,” Prof. Wang noted. According to him, it is important for scientists to consider the investors’ potential costs when commercialising any invention, otherwise development will not go beyond the laboratory.
However, it is often young scientists who make discoveries. “The younger you are, the more innovative you are. I remember this from my own experience,” Ruzhu Wang emphasised, explaining that an experienced researcher is under pressure of the already acquired knowledge, which allows them to anticipate all the difficulties on the path towards scientific discovery.
Ljubivoje Popovic, the holder of the Global Energy Association Honorary Diploma, sticks to a similar opinion. “In my address to students and young scientists I’d like to say that science waits for you! You should go towards it without a wait-and-see attitude,” he said at the REW Youth Day.
