Faculty Insight 22 IN FOCUS From Prof. Arnold, he also learned what to look for when joining a university – its ability to draw outstanding students – a critical factor for Prof. Sun in moving to HKUST as a faculty member in . “HKUST is able to attract good students, and people are the most important. This was what Prof. Arnold told me – to nd good students, you have to go to the place where they go.” In his role as educator of the next generation, Prof. Sun quotes another Chinese saying, “弟子不必不如師， 師不必賢於弟子”, which notes that students are not necessarily of lower ability than teachers, and teachers are not always more competent than their students. He believes “the best education takes place in the lab where students are motivated to identify and solve problems”. And, rather than pushing for publications, he considers it more important that emerging talents nd their own identity and conduct research that is conceptually original. As Prof. Sun himself has done, he suggests students stay versatile by learning from everyone who touches their lives. “Talk to whoever you come across and be ready to share stories with each other,” he said. In this, he said, Caltech and HKUST “are quite similar as students and professors are wonderful and willing to share”. “You can chat with people casually for half a day. Sometimes good ideas need a spark. This may come from your students or colleagues next door. An inclusive and intellectual culture is very important.” Meanwhile, he is continuing to play his part in generating the inspiring research environment to keep brilliant young minds fully engaged and at the forefront of research discoveries. With his NSFC Excellent Young Scientist grant money, he is boldly setting out to test fresh ideas. “One direction is to explore the feasibility of using genetically engineered single cells as building blocks to create functional living materials, which can grow, self-propagate and self-heal,” he said. “As researchers, we always try out new, risky ideas. We explore the unknown, the unanswered, and the unfinished” It is this energizing curiosity, combined with the resources to venture down untried avenues, that makes research such a rewarding endeavor, Prof. Sun noted. “As researchers, we always try out new, risky ideas,” he said. “We explore the unknown, the unanswered, and the un nished. O en we are more excited about unexpected outcomes than expected ones. If everything works as we expect, there would not be much fun. At universities, we can work on blue-sky topics.” With postdoc supervisor Prof. Frances H. Arnold, 2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, at Peking University. Being in the lab motivates students to identify and solve problems, according to Prof. Sun.
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