The remarkable Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is about to be open to traffic. It is the world's longest cross-sea bridge, and the vibration control technology is one of the key technologies for guaranteeing that the bridge structure has been secure for a hundred years. Dr. Yin Xuejun, an expert in the Recruitment Program of Global Experts and general manager of Gerb (Qingdao) Vibration Control Co., Ltd., leads his innovation team to minimize the possibility of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge resonance caused by wind force with the hard work, intelligence and wisdom, which creates another achievement in the vibration reduction industry and establishes a new benchmark for the world's bridge construction history.

Yin Xuejun gives a vivid simile, "The vibration reduction technology and products are like soft-soled shoes we wear. When they are superior in quality, people feel comfortable without special notice, but when there is a quality problem, people will realize that how important a pair of good shoes is."

Over 20 years after returning to China, Yin Xuejun has constantly led the team to overcome difficulties and open markets. The vibration control technology developed by them is widely applied to large industrial equipment, power, rail transit, and construction and bridge, and serves the West-East Power Transmission, Olympic Games, World Expo, Asian Games, G20 Summits and other related national major projects, thus making China's mid-to-high end vibration control technology and application level become stronger and ascend to the world's leading position.

Reporters of dzwww.com Shi Lei,  Wang Xiaobin

Staying True to the Mission, Starting up Business at Home after Winning Great Honor

In the 1980s, the industrial base and science and technology of China had a big gap from those of the developed countries. Under such background, the Ministry of Education dispatched three groups of government-sponsored undergraduates and postgraduates to study abroad, and Yin Xuejun was admitted to the third group of government-sponsored postgraduates.

With the mission of learning the western advanced technology and serving the China's modernization construction, he left for Berlin Institute of Technology in Germany to study for a doctor's degree. During the period of studying in Germany, Yin Xuejun was expert in mechanical design and high speed train wheeltrack vibration. It took him 11 years to obtain the doctor's degree.

By chance, Yin Xuejun met GERB, which was the world's most powerful professional technology company in the field of vibration control, at the International Rail Transit Exhibition held in Berlin in Sep. 1996.

According to Yin Xuejun, GERB has the world's most advanced vibration control technology with a wide range of application, and it plans to develop the Chinese market. However, China knew next to nothing of this technology at that time, and if he could master such technology and bring it to China for promotion, it could shorten the gap between China and developed countries quickly. Therefore, he chose to return to China and start up a business.

Yin Xuejun said, "Though there is a more suitable platform in Germany, but I still feel happy and excited at the thought of returning to China and starting up a business."

In 1998, as a partner, Yin Xuejun established Gerb (Qingdao) Vibration Control Co., Ltd.

Yin Xuejun said, "The governments at all levels in Shandong Province gave me all-round support at the beginning of starting up my business." All worries about the household registration, settlement and children's education were removed thoroughly, so that he could focus on product research and development and market development.

Enterprise Leader Leading the Industry and Filling in the Blank

As the saying goes: All things are difficult before they are easy. When he suggested putting the auto press line with the weight up to a thousand tons or steam turbine generator unit under the high-speed revolution on the spring foundation, or making the galloping metro train operate on the floating slab track bed supported by the spring, what people responded was worry and doubt.

Yin Xuejun had an experience which was funny and annoying: After they installed the vibration isolation system on the press machine of an enterprise, the effect was obviously good, but the owner asked them to remove the system and recover the equipment to its original state as he was worried that such a heavy machine would shake on the spring bearing and then fall.

Under such background, it is slow and hard to take a road of technology promotion. However, Yin Xuejun firmly believes that the high-end vibration control technology is of great strategic significance to improve the national industrial base and equipment technology level. Now that he is lucky to master the world's most advanced vibration control technology, he shall shoulder the responsibility of improving China's vibration control technology level.

Yin Xuejun said, "I firmly believe that the valuable technology will be certain to be accepted, and what I'm about to do is to shorten the gap in the high-end vibration control technology between China and western countries."

At that time, Yin Xuejun almost gave up all rest time and was busy with customers, factories and design institutes. He personally supervised the installation and after-sales maintenance, and answered relevant questions, or visited professionals for making technology reports, participated in various exhibitions and academic seminars frequently, and developed new products and technologies to meet the market needs when encountering technological problems. With rich knowledge and experience, he could give the best solution and design the proper product within shorter time. Gradually, the customers trusted Yin Xuejun and Gerb more and more, regarded him as the expert of vibration control and asked him for solving problems.

Yin Xuejun is on the fatigue test site of TMD whole machine used in Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. 

With perseverance and diligence, he expanded his business into many industries in 4 years, including large industrial equipment, power generation equipment, rail transit, construction and bridge, etc.

So far, Yin Xuejun has participated in the edition of 5 national and industrial standards and 4 professional books, participated in 1 national and international cooperation project, 1 national 863 program and 1 national science and technology support program, and won the licensing of 154 patents. With fruitful scientific and technological achievements, he has won the second prize of National Award for Science and Technology Progress for 2 times, first prize of Award for Science and Technology Progress at Provincial and Ministerial-level for 5 times, Special Award of China National Machinery Industry Corporation, and Gold Award of Geneva Invention.

With the outstanding scientific research achievements in the field of vibration control, Yin Xuejun was selected in the "Recruitment Program of Global Experts" of Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee for overseas top entrepreneurial talents in 2009, and was nominated for the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2015.

Science Craftsman - Exhausting All Knowledge to the Country

At present, China's manufacturing industry is in the historical development process of heading for "Made in China 2025". All enterprises and entrepreneurs are facing the challenge of fully implementing independent research and development  and constantly improving the enterprise's comprehensive competitiveness with innovation ability and spirit with the enterprise as the subject and through combination of production and study on the basis of using the advanced foreign experience and technology for reference.

Yin Xuejun said sincerely, the demands of the country and the society are our direction of developing new technologies and products, and more, are our obligatory social responsibility. With the original intention of "serving China through science and technology", Yin Xuejun made many achievements on the road of innovation and research and development through long-term hard work and contribution.

Dr. Yin Xuejun win 2015 Qingdao Supreme Award of Science and Technology.

At present, Yin Xuejun's team has applied the vibration control technology to four big sectors - industry, power, rail transit and construction and bridge, and a positive innovative development model of "one generation of promotion, one generation of research and development, and one generation of reserve" has been formed in the promotion of technological achievements. These technologies will be spread to more fields in the future, such as China high-speed railway, giant aircraft, steamship, power transmission and transformation, machine tool, space station, and nuclear island vibration isolation, etc.

In the new era, Yin Xuejun believes that China gives the unprecedented priority to scientific and technological innovation, and scientific and technological innovation will be the main driver of development in the future. Anyhow, scientific and technological innovation is inseparable from talent cultivation, so the talent is the most essential element.

Yin Xuejun said, "Now, Shandong has taken the talent introduction and expansion as the joint responsibility of the whole society. Shandong Province and all main cities take the initiative and spare no effort in introducing overseas talents with various policies and methods." The service content extends from the traditional household registration, settlement and children's education to the innovation fund, elderly care and other more refined and deep-level fields.

Especially in recent years, Shandong has issued the reward implementation measures for encouraging social force to attract high-level talents, which has achieved significant effect in enhancing the participation of social force in terms of introducing high-level talents and forming the social atmosphere of valuing and introducing talents.

Yin Xuejun said, with the upsurge of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation", the successful building of Shandong into the hometown of entrepreneurship and innovation makes more and more overseas talents choose to return to China. Here, they can find their dream carrier, realize their aspirations, enrich their experience, and advance bravely in the great course of realizing “Chinese Dream".