Interview with Prof. Huadong Zang—Winner of the Agriculture Young Investigator Award

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Agriculture Young Investigator Award—Prof. Huadong Zang.

The following is a short interview with Prof. Huadong Zang:

1. What are your current research areas? Could you please briefly introduce the composition of your laboratory?
My research group is a dynamic young team, including 1 postdoctoral fellow, 5 doctoral students, and 11 master's students. We continuously promote the implementation of basic research results through a combination of field experiments, indoor experiments and data models. Our current research focuses on diversified planting and farmland ecology in sustainable agricultural development, especially the construction of green and low-carbon planting systems and efficient mechanisms. These studies aim to increase crop yields and resource utilization efficiency while reducing environmental costs.

2. How did you become interested in your current research field?
My interest mainly stems from my concern for national food security and sustainable agricultural development. Intensive agriculture is crucial to ensuring national food security, but the contradiction between the ecological environment and green sustainable development is becoming increasingly prominent. Diversified planting is of great significance to improving soil health, increasing the stability of farmland ecosystems, and achieving multi-objective coordination such as soil conservation, high and stable crop yields, and the efficient use of resources. This is also the motivation for me to continue delving into this field.

3. Can you describe any particularly interesting or unexpected results you have discovered so far in your research?
In my research, I found that diversified cropping systems not only increase crop yields but also significantly improve soil health and biodiversity. This provides a new perspective on sustainable agriculture and shows that it is important to comprehensively consider the complexity of ecosystems in research and practice.

4. What are your prospects for the future of your research field?
In my opinion, the sustainable development of agriculture in the future will develop in the direction of eco-friendly, resource-efficient and intelligent agriculture. Specifically, the following directions are particularly critical: 1. Diversified planting and ecosystem services; 2. Carbon management and soil health; 3. Precision agriculture and intelligent management.

These cutting-edge directions not only bring development opportunities for agriculture itself, but also provide more possibilities for the sustainable development of global food security and ecological environment. I believe that with the integration and innovation of multiple disciplines, agriculture will achieve greater breakthroughs.

5. What motivates you to conduct scientific research?
First, food security in our country is a vital issue. Ensuring that everyone has access to adequate food is the primary motivation for my work. Working to explore more environmentally friendly and efficient agricultural practices and achieving sustainable agriculture is my second motivation.

6. What experiences or suggestions can you share with other young scholars?
At the beginning of my research, I was not sure whether I was capable of undertaking scientific research. But I believed that I had to complete every task by myself. In the face of uncertainty, my approach is to focus on the work without considering gains and losses. In order to improve my scientific research level, I strengthened my scientific research skills, participated in relevant training and lectures, and gradually improved my abilities through practice; in order to improve my literature reading ability, I read literature every day and practiced writing constantly; in order to have more time to work, I strengthened my time management skills and made a reasonable schedule to ensure that I could use every day efficiently. Through these little experiences, I hope to help young students cope better with challenges in their scientific research journey and achieve success.

7. What qualities do you think young scientists need?
I think the most important thing for young scientists is curiosity, because curiosity drives us to explore unknown areas and be willing to keep learning. Secondly, critical thinking helps us analyze problems and evaluate information independently. In addition, teamwork is also very important.

8. What are your plans for the future?
In my future work, I hope to continue to explore the directional design and mechanisms of diversified planting systems, especially their impact on soil health, ecosystem services and climate change adaptation. I also plan to establish more cooperative relationships with scientific research institutions and scholars at home and abroad to carry out interdisciplinary research, share knowledge and resources, and promote innovation. As a university teacher, I hope to pass on my experience and knowledge by guiding students and young scholars, and inspire them to continue exploring the road of scientific research.

9. We hope that the travel award will open new opportunities for you. How does an award like this one help to support the career of a young/early career researcher such as yourself?
First of all, this award can significantly enhance my personal academic reputation and influence, allowing more people to recognize my research work and contributions. Secondly, such an honor can also provide me with more opportunities for collaboration, establish connections with other outstanding scholars and institutions, and broaden my academic network.

10. As the winner of this award, would you like to take a moment to share your thoughts with the readers, or express gratitude towards those who have played a significant role in your research accomplishments?
I would like to thank my supervisor and my colleagues, whose guidance and support have enabled me to make continuous progress in my research. In addition, I would like to thank my students. It is because of our joint efforts and cooperation that we have been able to promote the progress of research and realize today's achievements. I look forward to sharing more research results with you and contributing to the promotion of sustainable agriculture and food security.

We would like to thank the award committee for selecting one winner, Prof. Huadong Zang, from a large number of exceptional candidates. We will continue to reward scholars with the Young Investigator Award to acknowledge their support for Agriculture (ISSN: 2077-0472). We wish them every success in their careers.