Chen Yunji: a basic researcher who is not lonely
May 12th, 2022

If you open the column

The times are moving forward and the youth are moving forward. There are young people everywhere on the new journey of innovation and serving the country. They are willing to sit on the bench, bite down the “hard bone”, strive to be the vanguard, and bravely shoulder heavy burdens and overcome difficulties in key posts and technical research; With a vibrant image, youth and struggle, they have gathered great strength for national development and social progress and national scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement.

From today on, science and Technology Daily has opened a column of “striver · youth”, which focuses the strokes and lenses on the group of young scientists, tells their vivid stories of seeking truth, innovation and overcoming difficulties, and shows the spirit of young people in the new era.

◎ science and Technology Daily reporter Dai Xiaopei

Chen Yunji once said that a good basic researcher must be a very lonely person. Looking back on his 20 years of scientific research, he found that this was not the case.

Chen Yunji is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the all China Youth Federation and deputy director of the Institute of computing technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of computing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences). In 2012, at the age of 29, he became the second youngest researcher in the history of the Institute of computing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. At that time, he was in the “superposition state” of engineers and scientists.

At this fork in the road, a decision changed his career fate. In 2013, sun Ninghui, then director of the Institute of computing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was meritocratic. Chen Yunji, who was only 30 years old and had been a researcher for only one year, led the basic research of intelligent processors as an academic leader (PI). At that time, there were only a few PI under the age of 40 in the Institute of computing. “Unexpectedly, Mr. Sun really gave me a chance to realize my young scientist ideal.” Chen Yunji said that since then, he firmly went to this ideal and never wavered.

After becoming PI, Chen Yunji devoted herself to the cross field of basic research of artificial intelligence and chip design. Many people advised him not to engage in such illusory things. Chen Yunji groped in the dark. Fortunately, there were like-minded younger brother Chen Tianshi and visiting professor Temam. He settled down to clarify the common basic characteristics of deep learning algorithm in hardware, proposed a set of processor paradigm suitable for deep learning, and proved the great potential of deep learning processor.

Their two papers Diannao and dadiannao won the best paper award for asplos and micro architecture. Nature magazine rated them as pioneers and leaders of deep learning processors, and Chen Yunji was rated as 35 outstanding young innovators in the world in 2015. The story of talented young man Chen Yunji began to be widely publicized.

After winning the prize, sun Ninghui asked Chen Yunji: can you make a real deep learning processor chip?

If we continue to focus on publishing papers, Chen Yunji may win more Best Paper Awards. But he decided to get rid of paper dependence and challenge the actual chip research and development. “I hope our research work is exquisite, aesthetic and practical.” Chen Yunji said.

The research and development of processor chip is the work of “licking blood on the tip of the knife”, and the deep learning processor chip is full of unknowns. Chen Yunji set foot on the no man’s land again. There are partners fighting side by side on the hard road. He and his team crowded in a room of less than 30 square meters to tackle key problems day and night, and finally gave birth to the international first deep learning processor chip “Cambrian”! When the chip was successfully tested, Chen Yunji grabbed the mop next to her and improvised a “knife and stick dance” with her classmates. At that moment, he was relieved.

Now, the deep learning processor direction initiated by Chen Yunji’s team has become the mainstream of international computer architecture research.

Chen Yunji was very pleased and sober. On the crowded track, he opened up a new direction again - trying to design chips completely automatically by artificial intelligence. “In the midst of the uproar, people doing basic research have to think about what problems need to be solved most. They have to constantly look for such problems: they are very important to the future development of human society, but the whole society may not realize them yet,” he said

In the field of basic research, taking the road that no one has gone through often means a long exploration and unknown results. But Chen Yunji is not alone. He always has leaders, comrades in arms and supporters.

On the journey of looking at the future of mankind, Chen Yunji is not a utopian dreamer. He knows his own boundaries. “There are many classic problems in the computer field, such as’ is p equal to NP ‘. Such problems are very important and useful after solving, but you should think carefully about whether you have the ability to solve them.” Chen Yunji said.

Over the past 20 years, Chen Yunji has received countless praise, but he has always been modest, gentle and low-key. He respects his predecessors and remembers the kindness of knowing what to expect; He did not hesitate to appreciate his peers and regarded them as “comrades in arms moving forward together”; He supports students and makes them stand firm and have dreams to pursue in the field of scientific research. Chen Yunji will not say “no” to strangers’ unkind requests, but euphemistically explain the difficulties. Respect and kindness to others seem to have been integrated into his blood and become a habit of him.

Chen Yunji is nearly 40 years old. As he grows older, his ability of abstract induction, organization and coordination is becoming stronger, but his ability of calculus and writing code has declined. “This is also a scientific law. We should adapt and give full play to the stronger part.”

In 2021, Chen Yunji served as deputy director of the Institute of computing, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dealing with scientific research management makes him better understand the importance of scientific research management itself. In the next 10 years, he plans to make more efforts in the scientific research system and scientific research culture. He hopes that the field of processor chips where computers are located will become the world’s top organization. The scientists here can compete with those familiar names. The new paradigm of processor research in China is enough to lead the world. With Chen Yunji, we are full of confidence.

Now, Chen Yunji, the “post-80s generation”, is also keen on fertilizing, watering and catching insects for young scientific research talents, and expects them to become a forest alone. “The ‘post-90s’ and’ post-00s’ are more vigorous and innovative than us. They were born in an era when the country is relatively strong. They are a generation that can look down on the world, and there will be more idealists among them. I think good scientific researchers should be idealists.”

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