“[Science] is full of imagination and pleasure.All the great people I have met are imagintive and have a wide range of hobbies.”

— Liu Shiyi, Shenzhen girl-cum-Caltech undergraduate

Li Hao

IN 2003, as a primary school student, she was the youngest person to contribute a paper at the 7th Global Chinese Conference on Computers.

The following year, she was selected as one of the top 50 junior academicians by the Chinese Junior Academy of Sciences, the highest national honor for a young scientist.

In 2009, she was named the most outstanding graduate by Berkshire School in the Unites States.

Earlier this year, she became the only undergraduate at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to meet Stephen Hawking, noted theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and best-selling author.

She is Liu Shiyi, a 19-year-old Shenzhen girl and prodigious atmospheric physicist.

Concentration fostered

Liu received more than 60 awards during her time in Shenzhen, covering painting, calligraphy and IT.

Liu’s parents, both educators, attribute these achievements to her power of concentration.

Liu’s mother, Liu Daorong, recognized her daughter’s prestigious gifts when she was 4 years old.

The mother bought Liu toys such as blocks and labyrinth games.

“My mother used to search the whole city for toys which would help my mental development,” the girl recalled.

Liu always carried a book when out with her parents. Noise and distractions would never affect her concentration.

But Liu’s highly efficient time management also left her with enough time to hang out with friends and surf the Internet.

Interest nurtured

Liu is fortunate to have parents who nurture her hobbies, a rare phenomenon in China.

Liu’s mother wanted her daughter to learn a musical instrument when she was in kindergarten.

The little girl, however, showed no interest.

Unlike many other Chinese parents, the mother did not force her to persist.

One day when Liu was in Grade 5 of primary school, her mother found her intently playing the flute. Since then, her mother has encouraged her study of the woodwind instrument. This time, Liu agreed.

Driven by keen interest, Liu needed only two years to reach Grade 9 on the flute, only one level short of the top Grade 10 for amateur flute players in China.

Passion for physics

Liu’s parents also respected her decision to apply to study physics at Caltech.

Caltech’s physics department is recognized as the best in the world as well as in the United States. Meanwhile, the school has a reputation for the most rigid enrollment standards in the United States.

Although they hoped she would study economics, eventually her parents respected her choice.

Unlike many of her peers, Liu has a keen interest in computing and science, especially physics.

At the age of 8, she and her classmates invented a school bag, which won her third prize in a provincial invention competition.

Starting from middle school, she arranged a “physics night” for herself each week. On these nights, she would simply study physics alone for hours.

Although it is reported that almost 30 percent of Caltech’s students choose to transfer to other schools due to heavy study pressure, Liu enjoys her studies at the University.

In addition to regular classes, Liu is actively involved in extracurricular activities on campus.

She has recently been selected as head of the school’s concert band and led the band’s performance at Qinghua University in Beijing. She is the only Chinese student in the band.

She also works as the deputy head of the Chinese students association at Caltech, helping introduce an exhibition of intangible Chinese heritage at the school.

Liu’s outstanding performance earned her a lunch appointment in the office once occupied by Albert Einstein.

Hawking dialogue

Caltech students had to submit a question to vie for a chance to have a dialogue with Stephen Hawking during his annual one-month visit to the school.

Liu’s question about future time made her one of the three students to win the invitation. The other two were a doctoral candidate and a master’s degree candidate.

Liu had the question, which had been puzzling her since middle school, solved by Hawking’s humorous explanation.

“Through my communication with scientific masters, I realized that science is not a stiff thing. Instead, it is full of imagination and pleasure. All the great people I have met are imaginative and have a wide range of hobbies,” said Liu.