2020 Graduate Student Teaching Award Recipient: Wei Shen

Wei Shen, from China, is one of the Faculty of Graduate Research and Studies, Teaching Assistant Award recipients for 2020. He is in the pursuit of his PhD in Physics.

Why did you choose this area of study?

I chose to be a physicist because studying physics was something that has always come naturally to me, I have always been eager to understand the world around me, physics can help me with that and satisfy my curiosity. And I believe that studying physics could develop critical thinking as well as improve my problem-solving skills.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I really love teaching and research in my field. In 5 years, I would like to complete my PhD as well as postdoctoral jobs, and to see myself in a position of a university faculty, continuing my research projects and being with my students.

Who are three of your heroes (living or historical) and why?

1.My mother: She is a strong and independent woman; she never said no to my passion or wish, and she taught me that nothing is impossible if you really believe what you want to do to overcome all difficulties.

2.Chen Ning Yang: He is a great physicist, a Nobel Laureate, a good professor as well as one of my mentors. I have taken his 'Fundamental of Physics' course in my undergraduate study at Tsinghua University, which was interesting and incredible, reinforcing my faith in studying physics.

3.Stephen Hawking: A great physicist and famous author. He wrote many really excellent popular-science books, so I think he is a hero 'cos I look up to him.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

I think courage is the most overrated virtue.

Courage allows us to uphold our ideals and to act on our values. It's courage that let me choose to come to UAlberta as a PhD student for my academic dreams and let me be brave in the face of all challenges in the future.

Name a book that you would assign as recommended reading to students?

A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes, by Stephen Hawking.

In this book, Hawking writes about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the Universe, about time and space in non-technical terms, it's a great book for students who want to understand our Universe or are interested in learning something new, even without prior knowledge of physics.

What skill would you consider to be most essential for humanity?

I am going to say learning is the most essential skill for humanity.

Technology is outdated every month, the world is changing every day, being able to learn new processes or ways of doing things is essential for all of us.

Who or what on campus has made an impact on your UAlberta success?

My supervisor Dr. Rankin (Robert Rankin) really has made an impact on my UAlberta success. He is good at inspiring my ideas for studies and research, he gave me enough patience and support for my research work, I learnt and tried to adopt nice approaches to teaching from his wonderful lectures.