Taking place in Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City Convention Center, the very first Huxin Lecture invited two distinguished scientists, physicist Jianwei Pan and science historian Guosheng Wu, to speak to the public. The event was titled “Entanglements across Space and Time” and mainly introduced two big topics: quantum physics and science history. 

Westlake University President Yigong Shi said that Westlake wishes to give back to society through Huxin Lecture by disseminating knowledge, opening people’s eyes, and inspiring the general public for science and technology. 

Even the location where the first lecture was held had been specially designed to inspire. To create the feeling of traveling through the universe, the LED background screens as well as the ceiling showed galaxies and photographies of star constellations. The audience was also grouped into sections with names after planets.

Qinge Hu, a student at Hangzhou High School which is one of the top three high schools in Hangzhou, was one of the participants from the Jupiter section. She told us that she was very lucky to get the opportunity to participate in the public lecture. Students had to earn their spot at the event by answering some physics questions on WeChat posted by the two lecturing professors and other faculty of Westlake University. Qinge Hu also told us that after listening to Jianwei Pan’s speech, she realized that her previous knowledge of physics was just the very tip of an iceberg. 

Besides the enthusiastic students, supporters and followers of Westlake University also participated in the lecture. Yuyu Song, a follower of Westlake University’s Weibo account said that Professor Wu’s attempt to dive deep into science history from the perspective of quantum physics was new to her, different, and extremely intriguing. She revealed to us that she took an overnight flight from Guiyang to Hangzhou just to listen to Professor Wu’s lecture in person. 

Huxin Lecture is not only a public event but also a platform to connect donors who share the same ideals and have made gifts to Westlake University. Yongjun Zhang, CIO of DH Fund Management praised Huxin Lecture and pointed out that everyone is an expert in their specific field which may however not be enough to cope with this fast-paced world. Thus, sharing knowledge and expertise with each other is crucial. Mr. Zhang also said that the lectures by Professor Pan and Professor Wu largely broadened his horizon.

Jianying Du, Chair of 3Js Investment, also resonated with Professor Wu's lecture on science history, saying that China inheriting a culture of thousands of years now needs to decide how to create a new culture to foster scientific development and innovation.

Thanks to Professor Pan and Professor Wu, and their speeches at the very first Huxin Lecture, we have got new perspectives on things and become aware of different questions humanity needs to answer.