Dept of Mechanical Engineering
(1980-1983)
 
After german class I was re-enrolled in the mechanical engineering department where I would study the thermal power machine courses together with other 50 colleagues or so.
 
The mechanical engineering department was not among the very top grade of the university as that of the department of mechanics where I came from. My previous class in the mechanics department was among the four best classes in the university in the 1978-1979 season.
 
So I was a bit uneasy but there was no choice. I was not happy with my new classmates too. I didn't like their manners so I kept a distance.
 
The Mechanical Engineering Dept was newly formed. Most teachers came from outside Shanghai, notably from Xian, Harbin and Jilin.
 
During the 3.5 years of studies, basic science (math, physics, chemistry, mechanics) and special courses in the area were taught: fundamentals of machinery, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, drawing, combustion engines, turbines, boilers, computer languages (Basic, Fortran) and others.
 
My graduation work was a study of the cooling system of the internal combustion engine, incl. a pump, a heat exchanger, the valves and the pipelines. Flow rate, temperature were measured to calculate the heat exchange efficiency throughout the systems. I did it together with my 23-year long friend, Dr. Liu. He was also my best friend then.
 
The Mechanical Engineering Dept. was later expanded to the College of Mechanical Engineering and the class of thermal power machines to the Department of Thermal Engineering. We were the first graduates of that direction.
 
After graduation, I was dispatched to the Ministry of Machinery in Beijing in August 1983.