Huanping Huang: Journey of a Scientist
Former Vermont EPSCoR predoctoral candidate Huanping Huang earned his PhD in 2019, but the journey was not always a smooth one. In a recent article published in Science, he took a moment to reflect upon a long journey from rural China to his current role as a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Huanping performed his undergraduate studies at China Agricultural University, obtaining a bachelor's of science in 2010. Undergraduate work was not easy for him, and by his account he struggled to cross the finish line of graduation. However, his agricultural roots kept him motivated. “I was inspired to explore climate change and how agriculture could adapt, which is vital to farmers like my family,” he wrote.
Very few journeys face no adversity, however, and Huanping faced his share when he failed his target school's PhD exam. While he had an opportunity to accept a position at a meteorological bureau, his passion lay in exploring the broader scientific world. This led him to apply for doctoral programs abroad—a risky endeavor, but one that would pay off significantly if he succeeded.
But going abroad also meant dealing with a language barrier. In addition to meeting the requirements of the programs he applied to, Huanping needed to pass English language proficiency tests. This meant a lot of studying and left him living in a rented basement room on a shoestring budget. But ultimately he succeeded and was United States bound.
In 2014, Huanping joined the Department of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College as a Research Assistant. This also connected him with Vermont EPSCoR, working with Adjunct Associate Professor Jonathan Winter, PhD, who led the Climate Team for the Research on Adaption to Climate Change (RACC) project, which studied the effects of climate change in Vermont's Lake Champlain Basin.
RACC was supported by RII Track-1 funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). That funding came to an end in 2016, but was quickly followed by another NSF RII Track-1, Basin Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE). This project followed up the research provided by RACC by asking why some parts of the Lake Champlain Basin were more resilient than others. Once again, Huanping served as part of the Climate Team, able to embrace the spirit of exploration that had drawn him to science.
Huanping completed his PhD in 2019, with his dissertation “Assessing Precipitation Changes and Mechanisms Over the Northeastern United States.” As was perhaps fitting given his journey to that point, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his PhD commencement ceremony until 2021. However, Dr. Huang had finally made it to where he wanted to be, by doing it his way.
“On the eve of the PhD commencement, I realized that by trying again and again, I have unlocked my potential,” wrote Huanping. “Trying does not always lead to ideal results, which can be frustrating. However, by following my heart, I developed a clearer view of how I needed to adapt.”
Scientific education is not always a linear journey, and it doesn't always happen smoothly. Through perseverance and resourcefulness, Huanping stayed true to himself while forging his own path.
For the full article in Science, click here.