沒有"女"字的科學(xué)家——顏寧

What is the image of a typical female scientist? Perhaps you imagine a pair of thick glasses, messy hair and a few wrinkles on the forehead? With her high-heeled shoes and graceful posture, Ning Yan (or Nieng Yan), may break that stereotype.

女科學(xué)家通常會是什么樣的呢?在你的印象中，她或許會戴著一副厚厚的眼鏡，發(fā)型凌亂，額頭還上有幾條皺紋。而穿著高跟鞋、舉止優(yōu)雅的顏寧或許會打破這樣的刻板印象。

Dubbed “the goddess scientist”, Yan, 42, is a leading biology researcher at Princeton University in the US. On April 30, she was included among 100 new members and 25 foreign associates into The National Academy of Sciences, a famous scientific institution that aims to recognize outstanding research in the US.

人稱“科研女神”的顏寧今年42歲，是美國普林斯頓大學(xué)一位杰出的生物學(xué)家。4月30日，美國國家科學(xué)院公布了100名新成員以及25名外籍院士名單，顏寧位列其中。這一享譽(yù)盛名的科研機(jī)構(gòu)旨在嘉獎全美杰出的科研成果。

You may not know Yan’s contribution to biology, but she is a rising star in the science world and her resume is impressive. After graduating from Tsinghua University and Princeton, she was invited to set up her own laboratory at Tsinghua in 2007. At age 30, she became one of China’s youngest-ever female professors.

你或許不知道顏寧對生物學(xué)界所做出的貢獻(xiàn)，但她卻是科學(xué)界一顆冉冉升起的新星，個人履歷也相當(dāng)亮眼。從清華大學(xué)和普林斯頓大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，她于2007年受邀到清華大學(xué)成立了自己的實(shí)驗(yàn)室。30歲時，她已是全國最年輕的女教授之一。

It was a long road to get where she is now. She told People magazine that she always believes that scientists need to have a pure mind and perseverance.

顏寧花了很長時間，才有了今天的成就。她在接受《人物》雜志采訪時表示，她一直都相信，科學(xué)家需要擁有純粹的想法和毅力。

Yan likes to work at night. She says it’s because she can focus when the outside is quiet. She also works at least 14 hours a day, but she’s energetic, because research is the most “comfortable” job for her, according to an interview with People magazine.

顏寧喜歡晚上工作。她認(rèn)為夜深人靜時能夠集中注意力。她在接受《人物》雜志的采訪中表示，自己每天至少工作14個小時。但她總是精力充沛，因?yàn)閷λ钥蒲惺亲?ldquo;舒服”的工作。

This dedication to her work probably helped Yan in her research to identify the structures of proteins in cells’ plasma membranes, which puzzled scientists for half a century. Her achievements got her listed among the journal Nature’s Science Stars of China in 2016.

對工作如此投入或許是幫助她鑒定細(xì)胞膜蛋白結(jié)構(gòu)的原因。此前，這一謎題已經(jīng)困擾科學(xué)家們半個世紀(jì)之久。她所做出的成就也令她入選2016年《自然》雜志評選的“中國科學(xué)之星”。

Apart from scientific research, Yan enjoys TV dramas and classic novels. Surprisingly, the novel Journey to the West inspired her to become a structural biologist. In the book, the Monkey King transforms into other animals. She wondered what it would be like to change herself. Luckily, Yan now lives in that world every day, exploring how proteins work at the level of atoms. “It was almost destined that I would become a structural biologist,” she said in an interview with Nature.

除了科研之外，顏寧還喜歡看電視劇和古典小說。令人感到意外的是，《西游記》這部名著讓她有了成為結(jié)構(gòu)生物學(xué)家的想法。書中的孫悟空能變身成其他動物。她想知道自己變身會是什么樣子。幸運(yùn)的是，顏寧如今每天都生活在那樣的一個世界里，探索著蛋白質(zhì)在原子層面的工作原理。“我?guī)缀跏敲凶⒍ㄒ蔀橐幻Y(jié)構(gòu)生物學(xué)家的，”她在接受《自然》雜志采訪時如此表示。

As she realizes her own dreams, Yan tries to encourage more women to pursue careers in science. In her eyes, there is no difference between men and women in the scientific fields.

顏寧實(shí)現(xiàn)了自己的夢想，而她也在盡力鼓勵更多女性投身科研事業(yè)。在她看來，男性和女性在科研領(lǐng)域并無差別。

“Women can work as excellently as men and live the way they choose to,” she said in a public interview.

“女性能和男性干的一樣好，并且過上自己所選擇的生活，”她在一場公開采訪中曾如此表示。