Duke Kunshan Class of 2022 graduate Yue Yu tries to focus on the positives during challenging times in life.
Passionate about research, the molecular bioscience (biophysics track) major drew inspiration from English physicist Isaac Newton to reframe COVID-19 quarantine as an opportunity to make progress on projects.
Yu was able during his period of isolation to mimic the solitude found by Newton when the gravity discoverer retreated to his family farm as the Great Plague started ravaging 17th century London.
Newton’s experience of uninterrupted study for his Infinite Series went on to become one of his most productive.
Yu, from Qingdao in Shandong province, looks back at his own three-week isolation following his return to China from overseas as a valuable experience as he eyes a career in research.
Such deep-seated enthusiasm for doing his own research and a strong sense of self-discipline helped Yu secure a full scholarship to pursue from this summer a Ph.D. in physical and engineering biology (PEB) at Yale University after obtaining several offers for further study.
Seeing the pursuit of a Ph.D. as crucial for his future path, Yu started to prepare for postgraduate study as early as the second semester of freshman year.
He got involved in projects led by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kai Zhang, whose research team Yu was part of for two years, and it was not long before Yu had made up his mind to pursue a career in research.
By the time of his graduation from Duke Kunshan’s inaugural undergraduate class in May, he had already published two papers in international journals as first author, a remarkable achievement even for postgraduates. He also presented research to the American Physical Society’s March Meeting in 2021.
After publishing his first paper — a study on molecular dynamics simulation of gas diffusion separation in regular pores which appeared in the journal Soft Matter — Yu was invited by Ruijie Darius Teo, an instructor he met during an introductory course, to co-write a literature review on biophysics.
Impressed by the undergraduate’s quick thinking and active engagement in class, Teo also asked Yu to join him on a review focused on using machine learning to study the structure, function and stability of metallic proteins.
Just as he likes to turn every challenge into an opportunity, Yu has developed routines to help him deal with stress and maintain a healthy study-life balance. He keeps in close contact with his parents and engages in regular physical activity, such as short cycle rides.
Outside of research, he is an enthusiastic participant of DKU’s annual celebration of the International Day of Mathematics, or Pi Day, organized by the Zu Chongzhi Center for Mathematics and Computational Sciences.
He is also keen to practice the French he learned in school, reading simple books in the language such as “The Adventures of Tintin” and children’s title “Barbapapa”.
“Some people may see me as a nerd,” said Yu with a smile, “But I am pleased to be a person who maintains a study-life balance and finds great fun in routines and structure.”
Author: Yike Guo, Ken Cheng
