In 2021, Ai Ling finished his undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at XMUM before pursuing a master's degree at the University of Manchester, UK. After that, he continued to work as a PhD student in Chemical Engineering there, researching proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
During the interview, Ai Ling credited his four years at XMUM for shaping his understanding of research and the engineering mindset, laying a solid foundation for his career in chemical engineering.
Ai Ling described himself as a "born chemical engineer". After receiving his Gaokao results, he chose XMUM's Chemical Engineering programme as his top preference, due to the strong reputation of XMU's chemical engineering research and the its promising career prospects:
"I was particularly interested in the problem-solving aspect of engineering," Ai Ling recalled, "Thus, chemical engineering stood out as a broad and practical field. I wanted to learn a skill, so I chose it in the end."
For the younger Ai Ling, chemical engineering was difficult but charming, and what attracted him most were the teamwork-based projects:
"Many of our assignments required teamwork. The problems were often open-ended, so we had to figure out solutions or designs on our own. Back then, I didn't know much, but whenever my ‘crude methods' solved a problem, I felt incredibly accomplished."
Among his teamwork experiences, the Capstone Project during his final year left the deepest impression on him.
Ai Ling's team worked on a plant design project to extract 1,3-propanediol from biodiesel using biological fermentation. Since the fermentation products contained various impurities, the team designed downstream purification processes to produce high-purity outputs. From optimizing fermentation conditions to selecting purification techniques, the project involved evaluating and improving various design plans to complete the plant layout.
"Throughout this process, I applied almost every engineering skill and software I had learned over four years. The project gave me an open platform to test my ideas," Ai Ling said. "When challenges arose, I discussed them with teammates and industry mentors - thinking like a future chemical engineer. As our plan became clearer, I felt a growing sense of achievement and confidence in our design."
Despite now being deeply involved in research, Ai Ling began his academic research journey relatively late, during his final-year graduation project. Being particularly interested in electrochemistry, he chose to assess the lifecycle of an electrochemical process, supervised by Dr. Ong Wee Jun, a researcher with extensive experience in the field.
"Dr. Ong is an ideal mentor in research," Ai Ling said of his experience. He provided me with guidance and inspiration, helping me understand the essence of research. For instance, he used the structure of a paper to teach us how to build logical frameworks and support arguments with data and literature. Through this, I gradually learned the logic and methods essential in research."
Reading papers, summarizing findings, one-on-one discussions with his mentor, and engaging with senior lab members eventually led to Ai Ling achieving a GPA of 4.0 for his graduation project. His research findings were also published as review articles and research papers in Environmental Chemistry Letters and ChemSusChem as first author, both of which are SCI-indexed journals.
Reflecting on his Final Year Project, Ai Ling expressed deep gratitude towards Dr. Ong Wee Jun: "Dr. Ong introduced me to scientific thinking. When I started my PhD in the UK, I had to design my own projects and experiments, and I realized how crucial the research mindset I learned from him is, especially in structuring projects, conducting experiments, and identifying areas for improvement. All of this has become invaluable in my research."
In his senior year, the pandemic led many of Ai Ling's friends to change fields or enter the workforce. However, his passion for chemical engineering remained the same. He was determined to pursue his chosen path:
"I wanted to delve deeply into one field and create unique knowledge in an innovative environment, pushing myself to my limits. Since I had already learnt chemical engineering for four years, I made up my mind to continue working on it."
In September 2021, Ai Ling began his master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Manchester. The following year, he started his four-year PhD, specializing in hydrogen-powered low-temperature fuel cells.
Now in his third year of the PhD program, Ai Ling is working on developing new material solutions for low-temperature fuel cells to improve their performance and stability, driving the industrial and commercial adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles:
"Hydrogen fuel cells are seen as a key future technology. If they can replace lithium batteries, they could significantly reduce environmental issues. It's a practical technology with the potential for large-scale implementation and an entire industrial chain. I hope to help bring hydrogen fuel cells out of the lab and make them a real sustainable energy option."
Ai Ling admits that the biggest challenges of his PhD are identifying worthwhile research topics and translating ideas into experiments. He explains that results are always uncertain, making success unpredictable. "Research is a process of more disappointment than hope," he says. Success usually comes after many failures, with only a few breakthroughs.
Nevertheless, Ai Ling remains confident about the future. Each small improvement in his experiments, every step closer to his goal, fuels his determination to keep going. Even on tough days, a good meal and a restful night's sleep are enough to restore his focus, knowing that the next day will bring new progress.
