记： 看到您的资料，您学过动力设备专业、水资源管理专业等等，那么您当时是怎么为自己来选择专业，规划人生目标的呢？

段：I didn’t choose动力设备专业, really. I was assigned to动力设备专业because I didn’t get my first choice. I think I was fortunate that this happened. As for why I chose水资源管理专业, the reason is that there was no graduate program for动力设备专业at the time (i.e., there were no professors in动力设备专业who were qualified to recruit graduate students). Meanwhile, there were no undergraduate students for水资源管理专业in 1982, but several professors qualified to recruit graduate students, including Professor Feng Shanyou, Zhang Yigui. So several of us applied to be graduate students of水资源管理专业.

记： 您的研究对气象领域有卓越的贡献，那请问您开始时怎样涉足这个领域的呢？是出于对气象危机的前瞻性吗？

段：I was trained as a hydrologist in my Master and Ph.D. programs. After I got my degrees, I worked for US National Weather Service (NWS), first as a post-doctoral research associate, then as a scientist and the team leader of my research group. In NWS, my interests were mostly about hydrologic modeling (i.e., simulating the movement of water in space and time). Later I became interested in land surface processes in the atmospheric models (i.e., simulating the fluxes of both water and energy). About six years ago, I moved to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), one of the eight national laboratories of US Department of Energy. At LLNL, its mission includes understanding the impact of energy consumption on climate change. That’s how I got involved in climate change research. My research is mostly about the impact of climate change on water resources.

记： 您的气象研究应该对未来的气象预报的准确性的提高有很大帮助吧！那您能用我们能理解的语言为我们描述一下您的成果吗？

段：My work related to climate change focuses on the quantification of uncertainties in climate models, downscaling of climate model predictions to the scales that hydrologists are interested in (i.e., reducing climate models’ scale of ~250x250 km²to several hundred km²), and finally, applying the downscaled climate change predictions to study water resources.

记： 能否谈谈您在气象研究过程中遇到的重大挫折，艰难的时期有想过放弃的时候吗？

段：There are many obstacles in life. I have never thought about quitting.

记： 您毕生精力都投身于气象研究，是什么样的动力一直在支持着您做出这样的成就呢？

段：My motivations are simple. The first motivation is to try to accomplish something in life. The second is to improve yourself.

记： 您能否说说能够使你在学术界如此辉煌的影响最深的几件事或是几个人呢?

段：The parents and family are of course the most important people in my life. My professors and the people I worked with are extremely important.

记： 对于您现在所取得的成就，您怎样看待呢？

段：I don’t think I have done anything significant.

记： 您曾经在美国马里兰国家气象局从事工作，而且当时国内条件不是很好，那么是什么样的动力让您选择回国呢？

段：I returned to China about 2 months ago, after 25 years living in the US. I could choose to work in the US for the rest of my life. But there are a lot of opportunities in China and I want to be able to experience the excitement of working in China, doing something for China.

记： 国内与国外的研究设备相比较，具体差距在那些方面呢？

段：China has made a lot of progress in terms of developing research programs and building research facilities. There are still some gaps between China and advanced countries like the US and European countries. The gaps reflect not just in facilities, but also in the ways people are trained to think and act.

记： 在美国读书的时候，您最大的感触是什么？

段：In China, people focus too much on exams. In the US, more attention is placed on developing skills.

记： 您觉得从事研究工作的人员应该具有哪些基本的素质呢？

段：(1)You must have the proper motivations (i.e., doing the right thing, to excel in what you do, etc)

(2)You need to develop the right critical thinking skills

(3)You need to be able to apply what you learned to practice.

记： 请您谈谈水动专业近几年的发展吗？未来的前景怎么样？

段：I can’t comment on that because I have been out of the area for too long.

记： 现在同学们常常对自己所学专业以及以后的规划还是很迷茫，您能否在学习和择业上为同学指点迷津呢？

段：(1)Put your mind into what you do.

(2)Learn the fundamental skills, including knowledge in your subject area, thinking skill, social skill, communication skill, writing skill, hands-on skills, etc.

(3)Be confident of yourself.

笔者述：在采访中，我们能够深切感受到段教授的谦虚严谨，并且对待工作、以及学习、研究等方面的认真态度，这些都是我们在以后的生活、学习中需要学习的地方，在这里非常感谢段教授接受我们的采访。