Ruling Meng, the author, is an exceptional scientist from Texas Center for Superconductivity at University of Houston. This autobiography describes her colorful life in detail, with high-temperature superconductivity research as the through line from beginning to end. The book is divided in two parts. The first illustrates the fierce competition in high-temperature superconducting material research during the 80s and 90s, when many scientists worldwide were racing to find the hottest superconductors. Meng was a famous and important participant in this historic competition. The second part vividly records the author’s tireless pursuit of the value of life, recalling her journey from young girl to respected scientist. Rich in content and fascinating detail, this book is well worth reading.
◆Acknowledgement◆
I am most indebted to my dear friend, Jianjun Zeng, who encouraged me to embark on the adventure of writing a book in Chinese and then in English. She always had time to talk through a point, an idea, or the form and content. Without her numerous hours of editing, this book would not be possible.
I am also indebted to my dear friend, Zihong Zhang, who as a copy editor did many iterations of the content and form to make them fit for publication. This book would not be possible without his tremendous contributions.
My thanks also go to Professor David Ross for his meticulous proof reading of the English texts and to Mr. William Nisbett and Professor Wei Li for their translations.
My family has been part of the journey from the beginning. My dedication to research coincided with the formative years of my son and my daughter. I regret that I did not spend enough time with them when I was working long hours at the lab. My life story would be different without their understanding and support.
Ruling Meng
▲Ruling Meng, the author, was graduated from Zhongnan Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (now Central South University of Technology) in 1958. She engaged in material research and development at the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Institute of Physics from Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1979, she was invited by Professor C.W. Paul Chu of University of Houston to conduct research on superconducting materials. She was one of the main contributors to the discovery of yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen high-temperature superconductors in 1986. In 2000, she was selected by the American Institute of Scientific Information as one of the 1, 000 scientists with the highest citation rate of scientific research papers among 500, 000 scientific paper authors.
Tabella dei contenuti
Contents
Acknowledgement
Editorial Note
List of Figures
List of Tables
▲Part I: High Temperature Superconductors and Me
Prologue
Chapter 1: I Changed my Career Twice
First foray into superconducting materials
Returning to the research ‘National Team’
Building a thin film lab
A surprise invitation
Chapter 2: My Promise at the Starting Line
Starting from scratch
First victory
No pain no gain
Chapter 3: Days of Challenging 97K
Returning to Houston
Proving the 35K oxide superconductor
Superconducting transition at 52.5K under pressure
Materials Research Society Annual Meeting in Boston
Optimizing process to make superconductors
‘Element substitution’
Mystery of yttrium
A news conference
Identifying the structure of the new high temperature superconductor
Cranking on all cylinders: discovering a series of rare earth high Tc superconductors
American Physical Society (APS) Annual Meeting
Notes
Chapter 4: New Frontiers
The emergence of new superconductor series
Finding the synthesis mechanism for Hg-base superconductors
The first defect-free C60 single crystal
Applications of high temperature superconductors
Large dimension bulk and rod superconductors
Fabrication of mercury superconductor tape
Fabrication of bismuth superconducting tape
Notes
Chapter 5 Inside and Outside the Media Halo
‘Changing a bird shotgun for a cannon’
‘Heroes behind the scenes’
The ‘Little United Nations’ of the Superconductivity Center
‘The fame of a general is built upon the ashes of millions of dead soldiers’
Chapter 6 ‘Our’ Patent
He applied for a patent for ‘Us’
An eighteen-year-old mystery
Requesting internal mediation
Ripple effects？
Lawyer’s evidence
Nine years of difficult road of ‘rights protection’
Who is the co-inventor of the patent?
Thoughts on the ‘Time limitations of legal action’
Who’s to judge?
Photos
▲Part 2: A Life on Two Sides of the Ocean
Prologue
Chapter 1: Growing up and Schooling
My father and mother
A tomboy hiding from the Japanese
A young girl’s dreams of becoming a writer
From a young Miss to a country girl
Toward becoming a STEM girl
University life
The great calamity of the Cultural Revolution
Notes
Chapter 2: My Forty-Year American Journey
Flying to the new continent
My Chinese colleagues from the Physics Department of UH
The helping hands of overseas Chinese
American friends
The shadow of the FBI
Chapter 3: Different Worlds
The rigor of the Germans
The tolerance and taste of the French
The pragmatism of the Japanese
Italy’s ‘famous brand’
Chapter 4: The Wide-Open World Outside of the Lab
Serving the community
Giving back to my Alma Mater
Starting an offshore wind power plant
Promoting the application of high-temperature superconductors
Singing, drawing, and fundraising for the scientific research innovation award
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