We recently discovered some news about LEMONTREE’s Principle Investigator, Wang Han that was simply too good not to share, even if we are a few years late!
In December 2023, Wang Han, Associate Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University and leader of LPICEA, received Tsinghua University’s 18th Outstanding Mentor Award. The award, which has been running since 1998, invites graduate students to nominate and vote for teachers who combine academic excellence with a strong commitment to supporting and developing their students.
In perhaps a reflection of Wang Han’s modest nature, this achievement somehow escaped the attention of the wider LEMONTREE team at the time. We are very pleased to have finally found out!
The original feature (here) published by Tsinghua University paints a wonderful picture of Wang Han’s approach to mentoring: encouraging curiosity and rigorous science, while recognising that developing as a researcher is about far more than publications and awards.
As Wang Han explained, what makes her happiest as a teacher is hearing that a student has enjoyed their years at Tsinghua. Her aim is for her students to retain their curiosity, enjoy the process of investigating nature and develop their own identities as scientists.
That philosophy is reflected in the experiences of several researchers who are part of the LEMONTREE community.
Current LEMONTREE PhD student Zeyu Feng remembers being struck by Wang Han’s “gentleness and goodwill” from their first conversations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang Han called him several times while he was confined at home to check on him and offer encouragement. Zeyu describes her as someone who listens to students’ worries and uncertainties and is always willing to offer support.
Former LEMONTREE PhD student Huiying Xu, now a PDRA at the University of Utah, similarly recalled Wang Han making time to support her while she was on an exchange abroad. When Huiying experienced setbacks, Wang Han shared stories from her own time studying in Australia, helping her to look at difficulties from another perspective and “find the positive side”.
For current LEMONTREE PhD student Yanghan Ren, that support extended to the painstaking process of publishing research. After revising one manuscript more than a dozen times and feeling close to giving up, Wang Han worked through the paper with her sentence by sentence. Yanghan credits Wang Han’s encouragement with helping her persevere and understand the value of “slowing down” during the process of polishing her work.
Wang Han currently mentors a significant group of early-career researchers within LEMONTREE: PhD students Yuzhi Zhu, Zeyu Feng, Lewei Jin, Han Zhang, Ziqi Zhu and Yanghan Ren, as well as PDRA Shuang Sun.
The Tsinghua feature also shows that this support takes many forms, from creating opportunities for international collaboration and English-language scientific writing to encouraging students to follow their own research interests and strengths. Wang Han’s message to her research group is a simple one: “Each of you is unique, so you don’t need to compare with others. Just find your own niche and grow up happily!”
Three years late we may be, but congratulations, Wang Han, and thank you for everything you do to support the next generation of scientists within LEMONTREE and beyond.
