Recently, the topic of "a young girl attending the World Laureates Forum" has aroused a sensation online and brought the group of "adolescent scientists" into the public view.

A 16-year girl from Zhejiang has also attended the event as the only student representative of Zhejiang Province to have a face-to-face communication with the Nobel Prize winners. This adolescent scientist from Hangzhou is Chen Yihan, a girl from Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School, whose research orientation is chemistry. She has been invited as a member of the Elite Program of China Association for Science and Technology.

Chen Yihan said that she was engaged in the research program of "preparation of nano-meter filter membrane based on activated carbon and its absorption--research of filtering performance". When she found that the reporter looked confused after hearing her words, Chen explained very considerably, "Simply speaking, it’s a research on the absorption of sewage treatment".

Chen said, chemistry is a field she has been interested in since her childhood, "Since my father is a chemistry teacher of a university and has told stories of chemistry to me since my childhood. Influenced by him, I have also been very interested in the subject. After entering the senior high school, I began to participate in chemistry competitions and joined the Innovation School and Elite Program, and participated in experiments officially."

For this reason, Chen Yihan has the chance to enter the chemistry laboratory of Zhejiang University and participate in programs led by a special tutor. This summer vacation, she stayed in the laboratory for nearly a month and performed experiments including the current sewage treatment program under the guidance of the tutor in the school.

It’s learned that the Innovation School is in charge of the cultivation of technical innovation talents of Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School. The Elite Program is a technical talent cultivation program co-released by China Association for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education. The students that have joined the program have to undergo a strict selection process. Zhejiang University is undertaking the cultivation tasks in the Zhejiang region. Each year, dozens of students from Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School are qualified for the program.

Executive Editor: Ke Ye

Translation: Ke Ye, Wenjin Chen