{"287251":{"#nid":"287251","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Wang to Receive Distinguished Prof Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in the Chinese countryside, Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang aspired to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps at a local factory.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrom the time I was 5 years old until I was 16, college education was not available to young people in China, so I thought working in a factory was my only option,\u201d said Wang, Regents Professor and Hightower Chair in the College of Engineering, of the period of China\u2019s history known as the Cultural Revolution. \u201cBut during my last year of high school, things changed, and I took the national exam to go to college.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom that point on, one opportunity led to the next. After completing college in China, Wang was invited to participate in the national examination to be selected as one of the top 100 students to attend graduate school in the United States, which is when he realized what he wanted to do in life \u2014 teach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis love for teaching is just one of the reasons Wang was selected to receive this year\u2019s Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award at the Faculty and Staff Honors Luncheon on April 11.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETaking a Research Risk that Paid Off\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Wang arrived at Tech in 1995, he was one of the few scientists conducting research in the area of nanoscience \u2014 or the study of the performance of ultra-small materials and devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong the way, Wang invented the nanogenerator and figured out how it could harvest mechanical energy using nano-enabled technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, one of his projects focused on how a nanogenerator in a collapsible backpack could collect energy that could charge a person\u2019s electronic devices such as cellphones.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI remember being the only one doing this type of research when I started,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, this is a well-established research field. I took a risk, but I\u2019d also say that it paid off.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGrowing the Family Tree\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut even more important to Wang than research is mentoring students. The most satisfying part of his job is seeing students who initially aren\u2019t excited about taking one of his courses become engaged, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the challenges of my job is getting students excited about the field of nanoscience,\u201d Wang said. \u201cBut I think that, in many cases, if I share my excitement with them, it becomes contagious.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd it\u2019s obvious that Wang has inspired a number of young people. He has advised and graduated more than 40 Ph.D. students, three master\u2019s students, numerous undergraduate students, and more than 110 post doctoral fellows and visiting scientists \u2014 not to mention the 10 Ph.D. students he\u2019s currently advising.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese students are making their mark around the world, with eight teaching at U.S. research universities, while 10 are faculty in Taiwan, three in Korea, and 60 in China.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI like to see my students choose to become professors,\u201d Wang said. \u201cIt has been a pleasure to watch my so-called academic \u2018family tree\u2019 grow. And it is an honor to receive the distinguished professor award and be recognized for something I genuinely enjoy doing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in the Chinese countryside, Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang aspired to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps at a local factory.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Growing up in the Chinese countryside, Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang aspired to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps at a local factory."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-03-31 14:55:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:07","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"13751","name":"Zhong Lin Wang"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}