Yang Shu, Class of 2026 in Mechanical Engineering at ZJUI, received a fully funded offer of admission to the PhD program in Mechanical Engineering at Yale University. He was also admitted to the PhD program in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, the PhD program in Integrative Sciences and Engineering at the National University of Singapore, and the master’s program in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He has chosen to pursue his doctoral studies in Mechanical Engineering at Yale. Behind these remarkable achievements lies an undergraduate journey shaped by independent judgment, sustained intellectual curiosity, and the courage to venture beyond well-trodden paths.
“Where there are no standard answers, stay passionate, trust your judgment, and keep exploring what is possible.” This, Yang said, is the philosophy that has guided his journey so far. From rigorous academic training and fluid mechanics research to an eye for beauty in everyday life, he has found his own rhythm within ZJUI’s international and interdisciplinary environment.
Yang found his research calling in fluid mechanics. The initial spark came during a course taught by ZJUI Associate Professor Cui Jiahuan, where a series of striking, colorful flow visualizations captured his imagination. As someone drawn to modern art, Yang saw an unexpected kinship between abstract painting and computational fluid dynamics: both, he believed, reveal hidden structures and order beneath apparent complexity.
“Fluid mechanics is never just a collection of cold equations. Vortices, droplets, and flow instabilities—these are moments when the laws of nature become visible.” This fusion of rigor and beauty drew him toward computational fluid dynamics and opened his eyes to a broader dimension of mechanical engineering, one grounded in mathematics and physics while intersecting with advanced computational methods, computer technology, and artificial intelligence.
His research experience expanded significantly during his overseas exchange, where he worked with Assistant Professor C. Ricardo Constante-Amores. Starting from the basics, he developed hands-on proficiency in command-line tools, high-performance computing, code organization, automation, and debugging. These skills transformed his understanding of how research could be conducted and helped him establish a more systematic and reproducible computational workflow, particularly for the numerical simulation of multiphase flows and complex interfaces.
Upon returning to ZJUI, Yang continued refining his simulation methods through benchmarking, testing, validation, and troubleshooting. In the process, he settled into a research rhythm that suited him and grew increasingly confident about the direction he wanted to pursue. This steady accumulation soon translated into tangible academic output. Yang’s first-author paper, “End-pinching and inertial-capillary reopening in viscoplastic liquid ligaments at low Ohnesorge number,” has been officially accepted as a Regular Article in Physical Review Fluids, a leading journal in fluid mechanics.
Yang’s academic foundation, meanwhile, began taking shape in RHET, a first-year writing course taught by Lecturer John MacLean. The course introduced him to the core principles of scholarly work, which are meticulous attribution, respect for others’ intellectual contributions, and the ability to develop original arguments by critically engaging with competing perspectives. These principles would go on to shape how he reads literature, writes papers, and approaches research.
In his professional courses, he discovered the elegance inherent in mathematics and mechanics. Step-by-step derivations in fluid mechanics, mechanical systems dynamics, and signal processing showed him how complex problems could be defined, decomposed, and resolved through clear reasoning. Rather than simply presenting conclusions, his instructors demonstrated how a problem could be advanced from initial ambiguity toward clarity.
The classic “Given, Find, Solution” framework gradually became a cornerstone of Yang’s own problem-solving approach. He learned to begin with known conditions and intended outcomes, identify relevant definitions and assumptions, and clarify the relationships among different concepts. This pursuit of logical order also shaped the way he took notes, which he sought to make not only accurate and clear but also orderly and visually coherent.
Even in an age of increasingly capable AI tools, Yang continued to rely on handwritten notes to internalize formulas and deepen his understanding of concepts. Digital tools may generate and store information efficiently, but he believed that knowledge becomes one’s own only through the processes of writing, reasoning, and repeated reflection.
Interdisciplinary humanities courses further broadened the way he understood complex questions. In an early modern philosophy course taught by Associate Professor Shao Kai Tseng at School of Philosophy, Zhejiang University, Yang began to reconsider his previous assumption that religion and modernity were simply opposing forces. Through thinkers such as Descartes, Hume, Hobbes, and Rousseau, he came to understand the modern world as the product of a long and intricate interaction among religion, politics, science, and philosophy.
From the scholarly discipline cultivated through academic writing to the logical training provided by professional courses and the historical perspective offered by philosophy, these seemingly different experiences have converged into a shared foundation for how Yang confronts the unknown.
Beyond academics, Yang maintained a keen appreciation for beauty in everyday life. When he first arrived at ZJUI four years ago, the openness and beauty of the campus immediately impressed him. Over time, however, the familiar scenery gradually receded into the background of his busy routine. It was not until his final year, during walks along the campus lake and surrounding waterways, that he began to see the landscape anew.
The greenery, flowing water, shifting light, and thoughtfully maintained surroundings became a quiet anchor amid the pressures of study and research. Travel offered a similar sense of renewal. Exploring unfamiliar cities, visiting exhibitions, taking long walks, and immersing himself in different environments allowed him to step back from his routine and reopen his perspective. Even when research tasks always accompany him on the road, a change of surroundings would help him regain a sense of balance and return to his work with greater clarity.
After graduation, Yang will pursue his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Yale University. For him, this is not a destination but the beginning of a longer journey, one he will continue to navigate with respect for knowledge, sensitivity to beauty, commitment to what he loves, and the confidence to explore questions that have no standard answers.
