Wenjuan Song

Wenjuan Song, a visiting PhD candidate, has worked at the Institute on AC loss modelling and experiment since 2016.

Photograph of a woman working at a table upon which there's various scientific equipment.

I have been working at RRI since 2016 on AC loss modelling and experiment as a visiting PhD student from Beijing Jiaotong University, China. I came to RRI as part of a National Science and Technology Major Project on HTS traction transformers for Chinese high-speed trains, which is a significant cooperative project between BJTU and RRI. There has been a good relationship for several years between BJTU and RRI. Our foreign expert project has brought RRI senior engineer Rod Badcock to visit BJTU and we have several cooperative academic publications.

RRI has a global reputation for its work on the borders of applied superconductivity and it is my pleasure to collaborate with such highly regarded institute. I really enjoy every moment of my work here. RRI has been equipped with various advanced superconducting devices and systems in my field, such as a critical current measurement system, and an AC loss measurement system. With the help of my supervisor at RRI, Doctor Zhenan Jiang, I’ve achieved three academic publications during the past year.

I am really pleased and satisfied with the working atmosphere, and the sophisticated level of the research at RRI. During my visit, I have found that every researcher here tries to develop on two levels: to promote his/her research career and also to promote the scientific achievement of the institute. I think this leads to better outcomes for both the researchers and the institute. In other words, the soul of the institute is constructive team work between scientists, engineers and students.

As an international student, I have personally received lots of kind offers of help when I was in need. Everybody including professors, scientists and other staff members tries to make it easier for visiting students to adjust to the new working atmosphere. In addition, there are many international PhD students from Japan, France, Canada, Germany, Russia, India, and other countries studying in RRI. I have made many friends here and it has been a great opportunity to learn about other cultures in a friendly multicultural social environment. I think this atmosphere fits with my personality and helps me to promote my knowledge and show my ability as a researcher. We all have an officemate here, which helps us to learn how to communicate with others, and gives us a chance for a relaxing conversation when we are under pressure in our research work.

I am sure that working in RRI is the best way for me to continue exploring innovations in my field and to concentrate my scientific and engineering knowledge into a real challenging experience. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the researchers at RRI who have been kindly helping me to adapt myself better with the environment; Zhenan Jiang, Rod Badcock, Nick Long, Bob Buckley, Jeannie Redman and some others. Especially, I am very pleased to work with senior scientist Dr Zhenan Jiang, who is a great supervisor and teaches me to do my research, patiently and precisely.