Ma Yixuan
Undergraduate student in Civil Engineering, Class of 2025, ZJUI
Ma Yixuan has successively won the first prize in the National College Students' Industrialized Building and Smart Construction Competition, the Best Paper Award in the 5th International College Students' Concrete Dragon Boat Race, and has continuously received national scholarships, Zhejiang Provincial Government scholarships, and Zhejiang University first-class scholarships. With her outstanding performance, she has been awarded multiple times the title of "Outstanding Student" at Zhejiang University and has received honors as a role model in innovation and entrepreneurship, academic performance, practice, and public services. To date, she has received admission offers from eight world-renowned universities, including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Hong Kong, University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Interdisciplinary Exploration and Initial Success
During her academic journey at ZJUI, Ma Yixuan has always been committed to her studies with a rigorous attitude and a spirit of excellence, achieving top-ranking results through persistent efforts. When it comes to her major, she noted that ZJUI offers abundant and high-quality teaching resources and platforms, actively encouraging students to explore diverse possibilities during their four-year undergraduate study. "Compared to traditional civil engineering programs, my studies at ZJUI have given me far more opportunities to engage with interdisciplinary courses and projects. Immersed in this diverse learning environment, I gradually discovered the unique power of cross-disciplinary integration." Ma Yixuan said.
On the path of knowledge acquisition, Ma Yixuan has never been content with merely absorbing classroom knowledge. Instead, she has always been proactive in participatingresearch practice with an open and enterprising attitude. She believed that "perfect preparation is not a prerequisite for starting a research journey. On the contrary, the courage to try and the willingness to take the first step are the first lessons I learned at ZJUI." Guided by this philosophy, she actively participated in the Student Research Training Program (SRTP) from her freshman year, focusing on the theme of "Axial Load-deformation Behavior of a Novel Bamboo-culm-based Member with a Hybrid of Glue, Timber Plug, and Bolt Connections." Under the careful guidance of ZJUI faculty and within the university's strong academic atmosphere and interdisciplinary exchange environment, she officially embarked on her academic journey. Subsequently, Ma Yixuan also joined a project led by Professor Shu Jiangpeng from Zhejiang University on the application of computer technology in the diagnosis of over-dimensional and overloaded vehicle bridge checkpoints and non-site law enforcement. She furthered her knowledge of machine vision and strengthened her thinking in applying multi-domain knowledge to solve complex engineering problems from an engineering requirements perspective. Through these research practices, she has deeply internalized ZJUI's educational philosophy of "interdisciplinary integration and unity of knowledge and action" as a powerful driving force for her academic growth.
In 2024, she joined a bridge monitoring project led by Professor Wu Gang from Southeast University, collaborating with her team to develop a "Long-line Structural Spatial Deformation Monitoring Sensor". "Throughout the process of participating in various research projects, every step from theoretical conception to technical integration has been filled with twists and turns, yet these experiences have also provided me with invaluable practical experience. At the same time, they have strengthened my determination to delve deeper into academia and inspired me to contribute to overcoming more structural monitoring challenges," Ma Yixuan excitedly shared with us. Through these experiences, she has gradually clarified her research interest in the interdisciplinary field of structural health monitoring and computer vision applications. She mentioned that integrating these two distinct technologies can offer efficient and intelligent solutions to complex structural safety issues. With its powerful image processing capabilities, computer vision technology can accurately capture and analyze subtle changes on the surface of structures, playing a crucial role in promptly detecting potential structural damage.
Honed in Competitions, Returning with Honors
More notably, while maintaining her academic performance, Ma Yixuan has also shone brightly in disciplinary competitions. The Concrete Dragon Boat Race is a multidisciplinary competition that integrates materials science, structural design, mechanical engineering, and cultural creativity. Participating teams are required to complete material formulation, aesthetic design, propulsion system development, and physical model fabrication to ultimately create a concrete dragon boat capable of actual navigation. Ma Yixuan, along with students from different majors such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Engineering at ZJUI, formed the "Dongjun" team to participate the Zhejiang University Concrete Dragon Boat Race and the International College Students' Concrete Dragon Boat Race. During the preparation process, Ma Yixuan repeatedly optimized the concrete formulation to ensure its excellent compressive, tensile, and crack resistance properties, thereby enhancing the dragon boat's structural strength and durability. She also proposed using SolidWorks software for fluid dynamics simulation analysis of the hull, optimizing the hull design by simulating water flow characteristics under different conditions and effectively improving the dragon boat's navigation performance and efficiency. Thanks to her and her team's joint efforts, their work, with its dual advantages of engineering performance breakthroughs and cultural aesthetic value, ultimately won the first prize in the 4th Zhejiang University Concrete Dragon Boat Race and the Best Paper Award in the 5th International College Students' Concrete Dragon Boat Race Invitational.
The Dragon Boat made by Ma Yixuan and her teammates
Furthermore, in the National College Students' Industrialized Building and Smart Construction Competition, Ma Yixuan, along with Yan Shuo, class of 2026 in Civil Engineering, Li Xinyang, class of 2026 in Civil Engineering， Wang Minyang, class of 2021 in Civil, Hydraulic and Transportation Engineering from the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Zhejiang University, and Zhang Xiaowu, 2023 master’s students in Structural Engineering, formed a team that achieved the remarkable result of winning the national first prize. In the project, Ma Yixuan proactively integrated her professional knowledge with the development direction of green and low-carbon prefabricated construction. Through innovative design, she promoted the implementation of sustainable construction. She led the design of modules and components, deeply embedding the concept of low-carbon throughout the process from functional division to material selection. She also actively participated in structural verification, optimizing parameters to reduce energy and labor costs. The team members, each fulfilling their respective roles, collaborated closely, continuously refining and improving the construction process. Ultimately, their team's proposal achieved excellence in the competition.
Ma Yixuan present at the National College Students' Industrialized Building and Smart Construction Competition
When talking about the awards, Ma Yixuan shared with us, "This competition experience has profoundly made me realize the significant driving role of innovative technologies in the modern construction industry. Continuous exploration and breakthroughs in green construction and sustainable construction are particularly critical. Through this competition, I have not only deepened my understanding of building design and construction but also enhanced my abilities in teamwork, collaboration, and practical innovation, laying a solid foundation for my future exploration and innovation in the construction industry."
Giving Back and Inspiring the Younger Generation
Looking back on her four years at ZJUI, Ma Yixuan reflected, "Here, I have truly felt the warm legacy and mutual assistance passed down from one generation of students to another."
When she first entered the campus, the full English teaching environment and the challenges of interdisciplinary courses left her wandering in the mist of academics and future planning—how to find her learning direction? How should she plan her career path? Fortunately, the senior students at ZJUI enlighten her with their personal experiences: course teaching assistants provided hands-on guidance in experimental data analysis, senior students shared their cross-disciplinary deepening experiences, and the "one-on-one mentoring program" allowed her to resolve her doubts at any time.
Under the patient guidance of these "seniors," she started by imitating the literature reading methods of senior students and gradually found her academic interest by actively participating in the research seminars led by her predecessors. This subtle and nurturing legacy of support not only helped her adapt to the intensive academic rhythm in a short time but also passed on the baton of mutual assistance to her—just as the seniors had once guided her through confusions.
Now, she also has begun to explain course selection techniques and share competition preparation experiences with the freshmen, allowing the warmth of ZJUI to grow richer through intergenerational transmission. She has successively served as a teaching assistant for RHET 101/102 Writing/Research Principles and PHYS 211 University Physics. For her, these roles are not just positions but bridges for passing on experience. As a writing course teaching assistant, she provided sentence-by-sentence modification suggestions for each student's paper and offers one-on-one guidance on academic expression logic. During physics course Q&A sessions, she broke down complex formulas into everyday analogies to help freshmen understand abstract concepts.
Seeing juniors gradually gain confidence after their initial confusion, she knows she is doing what the seniors once did for her. Those seemingly minor acts of answering questions, sharing experiences, and offering companionship are, in fact, the spiritual bonds passed down through generations of ZJUI students. And she is continuing this legacy in her own way, allowing this warmth to flow continuously in the course Q&A rooms, library corners, and campus tea breaks, becoming the starlight on the path of growth for many others.
In addition to her academic endeavors, Ma Yixuan has enthusiastically devoted herself to public servic and practiced social responsibility, accumulating a total of 263 hours of volunteer service. With her continuous and solid contributions, she has been recognized as a "Volunteer Service Role Model" for three consecutive years and has been awarded the title of Zhejiang University Three-star Volunteer.
Similarly, in social practice, she has always focused on contemporary issues with a sharp perspective, integrating her personal growth into the fabric of societal development. In the summer of 2022, as a core member, she engaged in the "Asian Games Spirit and Urban Sports Culture Development" research project. During this period, the project team focused on exploring pathways to integrate the Asian Games spirit with urban sports culture development, aiming to enhance public awareness of Asian Games culture and the value of the sports industry. Ultimately, the team's project was awarded the third prize for social practice at the International Campus.
Photo of Ma Yixuan(second form left) and her social practice team
Over the past four years, she has used her professional knowledge as a foundation to deeply reflect on real-world societal issues. "ZJUI has provided us with a rich and diverse platform for volunteer services and social practice, offering numerous valuable opportunities. Through participation, our sense of social responsibility has been cultivated, and our practical skills have been thoroughly honed," she has always believed that true growth begins the moment one steps out of the textbook.
