TWO DECADES OF CROSS-BORDER INNOVATIVE RESEARCH: RETROSPECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

In the last decade, human development has accelerated into a period of unprecedented rapid change — the tipping point at which artificial intelligence surpasses human intellect is about to be crossed. In this content, the trend of the past two centuries of increasing disciplinary differentiation due to the explosion of knowledge and the limitation of human intelligence is undergoing a fundamental reversal, that is, a shift toward innovation across disciplines that is driven by the discovery of the unknown and the creation of untapped problems. The ‘zero-to-one’ innovation from the source eventually has a global historical impact and even changes the world. Any such innovation will inevitably encounter a ‘valley of death’ in its 0-to-1 and the subsequent “1-to-N” phases. Each of them could be a long period of more than a decade 1. Since the year 2000, my research has shifted from doing the best in traditional disciplines (mechanics, mathematics, material sciences) to cross-disciplinary original innovation. After 20 years of unremitting efforts, my team and I have, in a sense, crossed the valley of death from 0 to 1, and stepped into a new stage of development from 1 to N. We are now moving forward in a double helix manner in both “structural superlubricity technology” and “cultivation of top innovative talents”. What played a unique and key role in this process is the two decades of education in my early life and the two-decade of research in mathematics and mechanics in the middle, from 1980 to 2000, as well as the innocent and fearless participation of students, and the deep collaboration with renowned professors and scholars across multiple disciplines. My cross-border research experience not only spans the entire STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), but also extends to more front-end innovative education and more back-end technology product development. I hope that my sharing will be a reference and inspiration for young researchers and students who embrace the dream of innovation from 0 to 1.