Historical material: The following preserves the original context, personal views, and discussion; necessary revisions are identified separately.
Historical compilation note: Research-life stories and the original commentary context are retained. Verifiable institutional notices are identified by source; other disputes are not current biographical facts or findings. Unverified serious allegations and motive speculation are de-identified, with their screenshots kept private.
A Collection of Puzzling Moments in Academia
What is your fixed image of academia?
A PhD resembling an ascetic life, with only a few hairs left? Someone ignoring the outside world and staying in the lab? Papers and grants as the only glory, with fame and money unimportant?
No, no, no—academia can be eventful too. Let us look at some stories.
#01 Creative marriage proposals in academia
Proposing in a paper's acknowledgments
Rui Long was described in the original as an engineering PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology's energy faculty, researching thermodynamic cycles, renewable and waste-heat recovery, and energy-saving technologies. These are historical biographical details from the manuscript.
The original described a January 2018 SCI-indexed paper titled Performance Analysis for Minimally Nonlinear Irreversible Refrigerators at Finite Cooling Power, in whose acknowledgments Rui Long proposed to his girlfriend, Panpan Mao.
The acknowledgments quoted in the original read: We acknowledge the support received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51706076, 51736004). In addition, Rui Long wants to thank, in particular, the patience, care and support from Panpan Mao over the passed years. Will you marry me? The manuscript also supplied a Chinese translation of this thanks and proposal.
Proposing through a grant-style application
You may have heard of the National Social Science Fund, but what about a family social science fund? The original described an application of more than eight thousand Chinese characters titled Research on Establishing a Marriage with Ms. Zhang Su and Several Questions about Married Life. Its duration was lifelong, with sections on the research basis, existing issues, a proposed plan, and even recommendations from senior classmates.
According to the original story, Liu Xinjie's creatively romantic Family Social Science Fund Application moved his girlfriend, and the proposal was accepted.
Figure 4: The application screenshot remains private
One science PhD student used a researcher's supposedly unromantic professional skill—writing project applications—to propose to another. The original said they registered their marriage on the university anniversary.
#02 Overbearing moments in academia
Asking someone with the same name to change it
The original relayed an online story about an unnamed PhD student asking another person with the same name to change it to avoid confusion. The institution and identifying surname are omitted here because the story has not been independently established.
Figure 5: The original social-media screenshot remains private
Author-name ambiguity can occur even when research fields or papers differ. Identifiers such as ORCID can help distinguish researchers. The original also described an apology after the discussion spread online; this remains an attributed historical account, not a judgment about a named student.
Figure 6: The original apology screenshot remains private
A reported assault and an institutional response
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's July 4, 2021 notice stated that Zhang Tao, then party secretary and chairman of Aerospace Investment Holdings, had been suspended from duties and was to cooperate with an investigation following a reported alcohol-related assault. This is the historical institutional notice, not a new determination of criminal liability.
#03 Academia and entertainment
A controversy over a teaching appointment
The original discussed a doctoral graduate who gained attention through a television program and appeared in a university's proposed teaching-appointment list. Personal and institutional identifiers are omitted from this disputed account.
Figure 8: The original appointment screenshot remains private
The source described debate over nationality and overseas education, followed by the candidate's decision to decline the opportunity to allow people around them a quieter life. This retains the topic and response without asserting unverified personal citizenship or evaluating the person's qualification.
Figure 9: The original personal-post screenshot remains private
An online claim about obtaining a degree through connections
The original described a blogger claiming that family connections enabled a transfer and subsequent study at a university, with parents supposedly employed there. Institutional, program, and cohort details that could identify the person have been removed from this unverified account.
Figure 10: The original trending-topic screenshot remains private
The original then cited a university statement denying the claim, saying admission followed the applicable entrance policy and the parents were not employees. The exact original statement has not been independently obtained here, so this remains what the manuscript reported, not an independent ruling on the person's educational history.
Figure 11: The original statement screenshot remains private
The manuscript also asserted that the person was genuinely a PhD graduate and had written about transfers involving faculty members' children. Those claims have not been independently established here, and the restoration does not identify the person or certify their credentials.
The original speculated that the livestream might have been staged to draw attention to another transfer allegation and prompt an investigation. The available material does not establish that motive or the third-party accusation, so neither is presented as a fact. The episode illustrates the need to distinguish reports, responses, and speculation.
#04 Unusual news from academic life
A laboratory fire and its official report
On July 13, 2021, a chemistry laboratory at Southern University of Science and Technology had a fire. Online footage and discussion brought attention to a researcher whose hair caught fire. This is an accident, not an example to imitate or romanticize as persistence in research.
The university's safety notice reported a fire during an experiment at 15:17 on July 13, 2021, in a chemistry laboratory in Building 6. Staff extinguished it, and the postdoctoral researcher whose hair caught fire was promptly taken to hospital for assessment and reported not to have a serious injury. The notice stated that no other losses occurred.
The original recorded joking comments that a researcher with little hair had lost even more. Those were commenters' reactions, not the university's description of the incident.
Wearing rejection letters to a dissertation defense
Caitlin Kirby, a doctoral student in earth and environmental sciences at Michigan State University in the original account, attended her dissertation defense in a skirt made from seventeen rejection letters.
The letters came from scholarship, paper, and conference submissions during her doctoral studies.
The original quoted her explanation: The skirt was not a protest or a way of saying that reviewers had been foolish. It showed that rejection is an ordinary part of pursuing a goal.
#05 Memorable supervisors
An ordinary yet confident supervisor introduction
The original introduced Zou Laiquan, then described as an associate professor and master's supervisor in Southern Medical University's public-health psychology department. A humorous recruitment description circulated online, with readers calling it refreshingly self-aware. These roles refer to the source's historical context.
Alongside an ordinary but confident group introduction, the quoted expectations included: Please do not contact me before nine in the morning; without teaching I may not yet be awake. Do not hurry me too often while I revise a paper or put too much pressure on me. If you help turn me into a professor and doctoral supervisor before graduation, I will be even happier.
A supervisor who enjoyed games
The original described Dai Bin, then an associate professor at Southwest Jiaotong University, whose distinctive personal page became popular. It quoted him as loving his research and hoping to bring students into the painful world of information theory, while enjoying Dota and World of Warcraft and wanting students able both to play and learn. Outstanding exam experts need not come to me, he joked; I am embarrassed to say I cannot supervise you.
Readers jokingly called this interesting personality their ideal, specially tailored supervisor.
Let us return to the opening question: What is your fixed image of academia?
Academia can be a home for people who love knowledge. It is not necessarily as closed and exclusionary as imagined; it can also be open and welcoming.
There are PhD students losing hair and scholars with striking looks; repetitive research days and humorous moments. Misconduct exists, but so do many diligent researchers patiently pursuing difficult questions and higher goals.
The original manuscript credits its material to the internet and requests contact for removal if it infringes rights.
Restoration revision, 2026-10-10: All five groups of stories and ordinary humorous viewpoints are retained. The claim that name ambiguity cannot occur is corrected. Unverified appointment, admission, and motive allegations are de-identified and related screenshots removed. Zhang Tao's suspension and the SUSTech fire are described only as reported in 2021 institutional notices, without an additional legal judgment.
Supplementary references
- ORCID: Researcher Identity and Name Ambiguity
- CASC: Institutional Notice of July 4, 2021
- SUSTech: 2021 Chemistry-Laboratory Fire Notice
Sources and editorial history
Restored from a complete historical article exported from the PhDSciNet Official Account.
Editorial revision: Restoration revision, 2026-10-10: All five groups of stories and ordinary humorous viewpoints are retained. The claim that name ambiguity cannot occur is corrected. Unverified appointment, admission, and motive allegations are de-identified and related screenshots removed. Zhang Tao's suspension and the SUSTech fire are described only as reported in 2021 institutional notices, without an additional legal judgment.
