| 像加州理工學院這樣的學校，光是為中國就培養出許多著名科學家。錢偉長、談家楨、郭永懷等等，都是加州理工學院出來的。郭永懷是很了不起的，但他去世得早，很多人不了解他。在加州理工學院，他也是馮·卡門的學生，很優秀。我們在一個辦公室工作，常常在一起討論問題。我發現他聰明極了。你若跟他談些一般性的問題，他不滿意，總要追問一些深刻的概念。他畢業以后到康奈爾大學當教授。因為卡門的另一位高才生西爾斯在康奈爾大學組建航空研究院，他了解郭永懷，邀請他去那里工作。郭永懷回國后開始在力學所擔任副所長，我們一起開創中國的力學事業。后來搞核武器的錢三強找我，說搞原子彈、氫彈需要一位搞力學的人參加，解決復雜的力學計算問題，開始他想請我去。我說現在中央已委托我搞導彈，事情很多，我沒精力參加核武器的事了。但我可以推薦一個人，郭永懷。郭永懷后來擔任九院副院長，專門負責爆炸力學等方面的計算問題。在我國原子彈、氫彈問題上他是立了大功的，可惜在一次出差中因飛機失事犧牲了。那個時候，就是這樣一批有創新精神的人把中國的原子彈、氫彈、導彈、衛星搞起來的。 |
Universities like Caltech have cultivated many famous scientists for China. Qian Weichang, Tan Jiazhen and Guo Yonghuai were all produced by Caltech. Guo Yonghuai was very great, but few knew of him because he died very early. He was also an excellent student of von Karman at Caltech. We worked at the same office and often discussed problems together. I found that he was extremely brilliant. When discussing common questions with him, he would keep asking a lot of profound concepts until his curiosity was satisfied. Later, Qian Sanqiang, working on nuclear arms, came to visit me and said that he needed someone majoring in mechanics to solve complicated mechanics calculation problems for the atomic and hydrogen bombs projects, and he wanted to invite me to join his group. I said that the central government had assigned me to work on guided missiles, and I had a lot of work to do, so I had no extra energy to work for his nuclear arms research. But, I could recommend someone for him: Guo Yonghuai. Guo later served as the vice director of the Beijing Ninth Research Institute of the Second Ministry of Industry and was in charge of calculation problems in the mechanics of explosion. He made great contributions to China’s atomic and hydrogen bomb projects. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash during a business trip. At that time, it was group of innovative and creative people such as him who pioneered China’s research on atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, guided missiles and satellites. |
| 今天我們辦學，一定要有加州理工學院的那種科技創新精神，培養會動腦筋、具有非凡創造能力的人才。我回國這么多年，感到中國還沒有一所這樣的學校，都是些一般的，別人說過的才說，沒說過的就不敢說，這樣是培養不出頂尖帥才的。我們國家應該解決這個問題。你是不是真正的創新，就看是不是敢于研究別人沒有研究過的科學前沿問題，而不是別人已經說過的東西我們知道，沒有說過的東西，我們就不知道。所謂優秀學生就是要有創新。沒有創新，死記硬背，考試成績再好也不是優秀學生。 |
We should run our universities with the spirit of scientific and technological innovations present at Caltech and cultivate talents with the ability to think and nurture extraordinary creativity. In all the years since I came back to our motherland, I still don’t think there is such a university in China. Our universities are usually ordinary and say what has been said by others, while not daring not to say what hasn’t been said. In this way, universities will not be able to produce top talents. Our nation should solve this problem. Whether you are really innovative or not depends on whether you dare to do research on frontier scientific problems that have never been studied by others. It is not as if we only know what has been said by others and do not know of what hasn’t been said. Excellent students should be innovative. Those with no innovation and obtain high grades through memorizing are not excellent students. |
| 我在加州理工學院接受的就是這樣的教育，這是我感受最深的。回國以后，我覺得國家對我很重視，但是社會主義建設需要更多的錢學森，國家才會有大的發展。 |
This is the education I received at Caltech, which impressed me the most. Since I returned home, I found that I have been highly valued by the nation. But the socialist constitution needs more Qian Xuesens so that our nation will have better development. |
| 我說了這么多，就是想告訴大家，我們要向加州理工學院學習，學習它的科學創新精神。我們中國學生到加州理工學院學習的，回國以后都發揮了很好的作用。所有在那學習過的人都受它創新精神的熏陶，知道不創新不行。我們不能人云亦云，這不是科學精神，科學精神最重要的就是創新。 |
I said so much to tell you that we should learn from Caltech and their spirit of scientific innovation. Chinese students who studied at Caltech all played a positive role after coming back to China. Anyone who studies there will be influenced by its innovative spirit and knows that it will not act without innovation. We cannot just echo the words of others without thinking. This is not the scientific spirit. The most important aspect of the scientific spirit is innovation. |
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我今年已90多歲了，想到中國長遠發展的事情，憂慮的就是這一點。
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I am in my 90s this year, and I am worried about this issue when thinking about the long-term development of China.
(China.org.cn translated by Zhang Ming'ai)
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