Welcome to Life Series. Following is Chapter 6 in our new Life Series blog, which explores the life story of Cetis Founder & CEO, Dr. Bing N. Sun.
Chapter 6 - The Race.
Q: How were you able to complete your Masters and Ph.D. degrees at the age of 24?
A: I was creative! When I first met my professor, I was told that it normally required 2 years of study to complete a Masters degree, and 6 additional years for a doctorate, but I finished both degrees in 3 years and 9 months. I didn’t always enroll in the subjects recommended by my professor, which enabled me to spend more time in the laboratory working on my doctoral thesis.
Q: But didn't opting out of recommended coursework place your graduation in jeopardy?
A: That was a concern, because if the professor didn’t sign off on my thesis, I couldn’t receive my doctoral degree. So I secured letters from two other university professors well known in my field to help encourage my University of Aix-Marseilles professor to award my degree.
Q: Your strategy must have worked. Right?
A: Yes, because after the other professors read my thesis, they both offered to award me a doctorate degree at their universities, so it did help speed my University of Aix-Marseilles approval. That was selling. I sold myself by using smart business tactics. Thinking outside of the box.
Q: But this still doesn't fully explain how you were able to complete 8 years of graduate study in less than years. It seems like you were running an endurance race.
A: I did have a strong desire to complete my education and begin making scientific contributions in my field, so to me it was just another challenge that required hard work and self-discipline. And I did achieve my goal, but at a cost, because after successfully defending my thesis before the University of Aix-Marseilles thesis committee, later in the day I ended up in the hospital from exhaustion and a bleeding stomach. I spent the next 2 weeks recovering, and later discovered that I had a stomach ulcer which required surgery to correct.
A: I was creative! When I first met my professor, I was told that it normally required 2 years of study to complete a Masters degree, and 6 additional years for a doctorate, but I finished both degrees in 3 years and 9 months. I didn’t always enroll in the subjects recommended by my professor, which enabled me to spend more time in the laboratory working on my doctoral thesis.
Q: But didn't opting out of recommended coursework place your graduation in jeopardy?
A: That was a concern, because if the professor didn’t sign off on my thesis, I couldn’t receive my doctoral degree. So I secured letters from two other university professors well known in my field to help encourage my University of Aix-Marseilles professor to award my degree.
Q: Your strategy must have worked. Right?
A: Yes, because after the other professors read my thesis, they both offered to award me a doctorate degree at their universities, so it did help speed my University of Aix-Marseilles approval. That was selling. I sold myself by using smart business tactics. Thinking outside of the box.
Q: But this still doesn't fully explain how you were able to complete 8 years of graduate study in less than years. It seems like you were running an endurance race.
A: I did have a strong desire to complete my education and begin making scientific contributions in my field, so to me it was just another challenge that required hard work and self-discipline. And I did achieve my goal, but at a cost, because after successfully defending my thesis before the University of Aix-Marseilles thesis committee, later in the day I ended up in the hospital from exhaustion and a bleeding stomach. I spent the next 2 weeks recovering, and later discovered that I had a stomach ulcer which required surgery to correct.
Read all 18 Life Series chapters.
Click on the chapter links below to follow this remarkable life story in sequence. Click here to submit your comments directly to Dr. Sun. Thanks for reading. We look forward to hearing from you.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 |Chapter 18
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