Thesis abroad, an interesting adventure!

Switzerland, 21 April 2018

Mu HE (now Post-doc at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China)

From Eastern classrooms to European laboratories, from Bachelor's degree to PhD, I had a different experience and also gained a lot.

Could you please describe your journey towards a PhD?

I was interested in mathematics, physics and other scientific disciplines from a very young age. When I entered university, I majored in Mechanics and Civil Engineering, but I was also curious about Computer Science, so I took a second degree. When I graduated, I found that I was also attracted to scientific research, so I took the opportunity of an inter-university cooperation programme between China and France to continue my Master's degree in Mechanics of Materials and Structures at UPEM (now Université Gustave Eiffel) in France in 2012, and finally got good results. It was during this time that I met my Master's supervisor and later my PhD supervisor. With the support of the CIFRE project, I was able to smoothly carry out my doctoral research in the MSME laboratory on the topic of modelling and simulation of the acoustic properties of porous materials. After 3 to 4 years of hard work, I finally obtained my Ph.D. At this point, 6 years had passed and it was 2018, which means that I spent my youth years from 22 to 28 in France, and then I returned to China to start my career.

In your opinion, what are the most important things that you could learn from the experience of doing a thesis?

I have gained many valuable skills and learnt a lot of new knowledge during this PhD experience. For example, our laboratory is mainly dedicated to simulating the real physical world (mechanical, thermal, acoustic phenomena, etc.) and material behaviors using numerical methods, which requires us to have strong theoretical calculation and computer programming skills. On the other hand, I often go to companies to carry out experiments, which enhances my practical and hands-on abilities. In addition, writing papers, giving reports and making presentations about my research work also helps me to improve my writing, public speaking and communication skills. And as a foreigner, I need to practice my oral language frequently. I also help my supervisor with some teaching tasks, so how to manage all my work well is also an important aspect. Now you see, a PhD student can have the opportunity to acquire so many skills: to be able to conduct theoretical calculations, to write programs, to do experiments, to write articles, to give presentations, to teach, and to communicate with other people in English and French. The PhD period is the right time to improve your all-round abilities.

Your experience abroad ?

My experience in France was meaningful and unforgettable. When I started to study abroad in a completely new place, I got rid of the day-to-day and year-to-year routine, jumped out of my comfort zone, focused on taking care of my life seriously. I learnt about the cultures and habits of different countries, which gave me a fresh perspective to see the whole world with a more tolerant mindset. I also benefited from this period to explore different lifestyles, to taste local specialties, to visit many European countries and to try out more possibilities. For example, I learnt to ski here and fell in love with it, a sport that lacks conditions in hot regions such as my hometown. To sum up, as a student it was great to explore different places and try out more opportunities in diverse fields, and you also learnt how to overcome difficulties from what happened. But after your PhD study and when you start your career, you may not have the time to go to another country for such a long time as things get busier and busier. So cherish that very special time and those younger years. Recalling them will warm and heal you throughout your life and give you strength when the road gets tough.

What did you do after your thesis?

After my thesis, I worked for a period in an academic journal publishing house, mainly responsible for receiving submissions from scholars and inviting reviewers to examine the manuscripts. I then went to a university to work as a lecturer, and put more energy into teaching, with very little time for my own research. I am currently a post-doc researcher at another university in China, doing research based on the professor's research area here combined with the background of my PhD, and helping them apply for various projects. In short, I have done several jobs in different organizations upstream and downstream of the academic chain. I prefer doing research, and of course I also like teaching, so I still hope to continue doing academic work in universities, although the competition here is very fierce. But if you are persistent, you will always have chances.

Any advice for students who want to do PhD?

The ideal state of a person should be to plan their careers in advance, especially for students who want to continue on the path of academic research. This is because if you are looking for a job at a university or college, the interviewer will pay particular attention to the candidate's achievements, including published papers/patents, hosted/participated projects and received awards, etc. The depth and the continuity of your research will also be very important to the interviewer, especially for junior researchers. However, when it comes to actual career development, one usually encounters a number of obstacles. It is not easy to find a master's or doctoral program, not to mention a stable position in a higher education institution, especially in countries or regions where competition is fierce. But what we can do is to stick to what we are good at, to do our best and to seek the right time and opportunity. After all, there is a balance between work, rest, family, health and other aspects of life. Graduating with a PhD is just the beginning of your research. If you wish to continue on the path of academic research, it is a long run.

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Quelques références bibliographiques (production scientifique) :

[1] Ma Y#, He M#, Wang J, Ma F, Yu H*, Zhou Y*, Xie S*. Collagen nanofiber-lignin composite sponges with adjustable hierarchical pore structure for efficient low-frequency sound absorption. Advanced Science 2025, 12: 2412583.

[2] He M, Zhu Z, Luo W-Z, Song B, Xia L*. Design of sawtooth-shaped acoustic metasurface for reflective wave manipulation. Applied Acoustics 2025, 233: 110614.

[3] Nguyen CT, Li D, Xiong Z, He M, Gautron L, Duval A, Perrot C*. Structure-property relationships of polydisperse open-cell foams: Application to melamine foams. Acta Acustica 2024, 8: 54.

[4] He M#, Luo W-Z#, Trinh V-H, Lei L, Xia L, Li D. Design of Fresnel acoustic reflector for sub-wavelength broadband sound diffusion. Materials & Design 2024, 238: 112736.

[5] Liang T#, He M#, Dong H-W, Xia L*, Huang X. Ultrathin waterborne acoustic metasurface for uniform diffuse reflections. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 2023, 192: 110226.

[6] Xiong Z#, Wang X#, He M*, Benabou L, Feng Z. Investigation on thermal conductivity of silver-based porous materials by finite difference method. Materials Today Communications 2022, 33: 104897.

[7] He M, Perrot C*, Guilleminot J, Leroy P, Jacqus G. Multiscale prediction of acoustic properties for glass wools: computational study and experimental validation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2018, 143(6): 3283.