Celebrating Friendship and Olympic Gold Medals, HUST Boston Alumni Held Summer Outing

By David Li, bostonese.com

Newburyport, Mass. – On August 11, the second to last day of 2012 London Olympic Games, Boston area alumni of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) held annual summer outing at Moseley Woods Park. Over 60 alumni and their family members showed up for the outing despite of a rainy forecast.

After a potluck lunch with delicious dishes, alumni gathered together, and listened to talks by distinguished guests, including professor Gang Chen of M.I.T., and Dr. Guomin Deng of Harvard Medical School. They also celebrated the two gold medals won by HUST student Zhao Yunlie just days earlier at the London Olympic Games. The discussions were moderated by Xiao Luo, an exchange Ph.D. student at MGH from Tongji Medical College of HUST. After the talks, many alumni also toured downtown Newburyport together.

Founded in 1952, HUST has been referred as the flagship of the higher education system of the People's Republic of China, founded in 1949. HUST manages Wuhan National Laboratories for Opto-electronics (WNLO) at Wuchang, which is one of the five national laboratories in China. Many outstanding HUST graduates are now leaders in scientific research and global enterprises in China and around the world. HUST is also known for its strong athletic programs. Li Na, the first tennis player from Asia to win a major championship, holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from HUST. The annual "HUST Cup" soccer tournament attracts hundreds of student players from different departments and colleges of HUST.

On the evenings of August 3 and 4, HUST student Zhao Yunlei won two gold medals in London Olympics badminton mixed doubles and women’s doubles. In the mixed doubles, Zhao Yunlei and her partner Zhang Nan defeated another Chinese pair, 2:0. It was the first time for Zhao and Zhang to win the gold medal in Olympic Games. Zhao and Zhang are ranked the first in the world badminton mixed doubles and the top seeds in this Olympics. They defeated their opponents in the group phase and the 1/8 final, 2:0, and beat Danish pair in the quarter final with a score of 2:1.

In the women’s doubles final, Zhao Yunlei and her parter Tian Qing defeated Japanese opponents with a score of 2:0. Since the first championship by Ge Fei and Gu Jun in 1996 Atlanta Olympics, China has obtained five consecutive championships in this category.