The days when HKUST danced with metallographic sandpaper forever occupied my heart. Recalling the University of Science and Technology is like recalling my hometown home.


How could it not be like this? I have been away from the University of Science and Technology for over 20 years, and have only gone back once or twice in between. But every time I return to the University of Science and Technology, it's like returning to my hometown, and I feel a sense of happiness in my heart. I especially miss the days when I interned in the metallographic laboratory and danced with metallographic sandpaper. It was a more unforgettable and enjoyable day in my life.

    At that time, although various conditions were relatively difficult, it carried the burden of the New China; A steel powerhouse; In the dream campus of the University of Science and Technology, life is always vibrant and full of vitality.


The Materials major is the main major of the University of Science and Technology, and it is also a national key discipline. Therefore, students in this major always have a sense of pride, that is, the internship course of grinding metallographic samples in the laboratory is extremely enviable.

    Every time I go to the laboratory to prepare samples, I cannot suppress my inner joy. Every time, I wear work clothes, afraid that others may not know that I am going to the laboratory to grind samples. At that time, the laboratory was also a very captivating place for us. Rows of manual polishing machines were rotating, and students were holding small samples in their hands, grinding and grinding on the rotating metallographic sandpaper. While grinding, they occasionally picked them up and took a look, comparing and evaluating with neighboring students to see who had ground the samples well. The laboratory was filled with a passionate, enterprising, and youthful atmosphere.


At that time, the metallographic sandpaper did not have the current type of backing adhesive. It was fixed to the grinding plate with clamps and screws, so every replacement of the metallographic sandpaper was a relatively troublesome task. Our male classmates naturally took on this small task.


At that time, there was no automatic sprinkler system for adding water. Instead, classmates kept spraying water onto the surface of the metallographic sandpaper with a watering can in hand. Therefore, when grinding metallographic samples, two people worked together to complete the grinding process, forming a tacit collaboration between classmates unconsciously.


At that time, the conditions were not as favorable as they are now, and metallographic sandpaper was also a relatively expensive consumable. We had strict quantity control when using it, and it was necessary to save on usage! Before the initial operation on the machine, it is necessary to receive training and pass the assessment before independent operation on the machine. Time flies, and these past events have been deeply buried in the memory.


Like many alumni of HKUST, isn't the little knowledge I now possess the foundation I laid during the days when HKUST danced with metallographic sandpaper? After leaving the University of Science and Technology, of course, I also learned a lot of new knowledge, but at every stage, as long as I feel that I have learned something, I immediately think of my University of Science and Technology. Without the foundation laid there, all of this is impossible.

    University of Science and Technology, like my hometown's home, the spinning grinding disc of the metallographic laboratory, the incessant sound of samples and the friction of metallographic sandpaper, is more like a beautiful poem that forever occupies my heart. Will always accompany me on my journey.