Stargazing fetches Chinese woman honor for research

Gazing at stars has always been her thing since childhood. So it wasn't entirely surprising when Chen Xuefei was recently recognized along with nine others for contributions to the sciences.

Awardees of the China Young Women in Science Fellowships received 100,000 yuan ($16,000; 14,000 euros) each and were chosen by a panel of 37 academicians from nearly 200 candidates. The All-China Women's Federation, the China Association for Science and Technology, the China National Commission for UNESCO, and French cosmetics company L'Oreal China jointly launched the awards in 2004.

"Interest is very important for scientific research because it is interest that guides you to go forward, just like a lamp. Confidence is very important for women who want to be researchers," says Chen, 39, a researcher at Yunnan Observatory of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to a 2013 report by Boston Consulting Group, the share of women among science researchers in China was only 25 percent. In 10 major Chinese universities, female undergraduates and postgraduates in science and engineering fields represented 28 percent of the total in 2012, and the figure for female PhD candidates that year was just 17 percent of all such people.

"I hope the public will pay more attention to the annual event, and learn more about female scientific researchers," Chen says.

In 2003, she started her first individual research on one kind of viable explanation for the formation of blue stragglers - mass transfer between two stars in a binary-star system.

In 2014, the results were published in a book on blue stragglers, which shine more and are blue in color.

To the common folk, astronomy is romantic because of the fascinating photos of the universe, but for Chen, it's mostly dealing with observation data to study heavenly bodies.

Her daily online reading includes research work by various astronomers from around the world to keep pace with developments elsewhere. Chen says that a good way to promote astronomy among people is through sci-fi movies, such as Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. "If the public can get to know about science through visual enjoyment, they will find science very beautiful."

After graduating in physics from Yunnan University in 1999, she enrolled in astronomy as a postgraduate at Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese academy. But soon she realized how different the thinking patterns of physics and astronomy were. Her husband, who was then her boyfriend, was aware of her struggle with that transition, she says.

Chen didn't quit astronomy because of her own persistence and encouragement from her friends and teachers, she adds. "One should have the spirit. If you always give up halfway when you encounter difficulties, you will never succeed."

She now seeks to awaken an interest in astronomy in her 10-year-old son Xie Xuanzhu, whom she takes to the observatory during his school breaks in the summer and winter. The child likes to watch China Central Television's documentary channel 9, and she will watch it with him.

She says it's a convenient way for her son to learn about science and discover its beauty, and the programs include astronomy, geography and the life sciences. "He is more interested in astronomy than his peers. Whenever China launches a satellite, he will be very excited and watch the live broadcast on TV with me," Chen says.

Chen wants to take her son to Chile to see the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, which is the largest astronomical project in existence, involving a number of countries. The array is in reality one massive telescope.

Chen's husband teaches Chinese at a junior middle school and spends a lot of time with their son, which frees her up to pursue research.

"I feel very lucky to have my husband. When I have something at work, I can go without worries because he's there for the family," she says.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/13/2015 page29)