At 4 a.m., while most people are deep in slumber, the bedroom light of Lai Liyang, a faculty member at Shantou University's College of Engineering, is already on, marking the start of his daily routine. Four hours later, he is punctually present in his undergraduate classroom, teaching either Digital Circuits or Microcomputer Principles in English. Before explaining the course's technical content, Lai shares with his students philosophical reflections on the phenology of the current solar term—a teaching ritual he has maintained for nearly a decade.
May 30th is the ninth National Science and Technology Workers' Day. As a researcher who was deeply involved in chip testing at enterprises, Lai Liyang has witnessed China's journey "from purchasing foreign chips to facing technological blockades." He applied five times for General Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) without success, yet continued to accumulate knowledge and work diligently in obscurity. He eventually received support from a major research plan of the NSFC. His story exemplifies a research path that advances in parallel on two tracks: industrial practice and academic depth.
Refining the "Testing Key" from Industrial Pain Points
"As long as this industry exists, chip testing is unavoidable. I have been working in this area consistently, and have never changed direction," Lai Liyang said, revealing decades of steadfast dedication. In 2024, the project "Design-for-Testability Methods for Integrated Chips," which he proposed and led, received key support from a major research plan of the NSFC, marking the first national-level major breakthrough in the field of integrated circuits at Shantou University.
This project directly targets a critical bottleneck in China's chip industry. When a single chip carries tens of billions of transistors, and stacked integrated chips reach hundreds of billions, achieving low-cost, high-quality chip testing and high-precision fault diagnosis is one of the key pain points in building an independent and self-reliant chip industry chain in China. The key to solving the problem is to embed a "self-test pathway" during the chip design phase by incorporating targeted design-for-testability hardware modules and corresponding software tool support, akin to implanting a nervous system into precision instruments. Lai Liyang explains that this approach can improve yield, "allowing enterprises to generate sufficient profits to reinvest in research and development, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the entire industry's development."
This insight stems from nearly two decades of refinement in the industrial sector. Since his doctoral studies, Lai Liyang has consistently focused on research in the field of chip design-for-testability. After earning his Ph.D. in 2005, he joined Mentor Graphics, a leading international electronic design automation (EDA) company, where he conducted research in chip EDA for ten years. Since joining Shantou University in 2015, he has maintained close ties with the industry, continuing to collaborate with renowned domestic and international chip design companies and EDA firms.
The accumulation of "real-world problems" from the industry ultimately became the key to breaking through. "Focusing on practical industrial problems and optimizing design-for-testability methods for integrated chips can reduce testing costs, improve yield, clear industry bottlenecks, and has broad applications in supply chains. This can be considered the result of a decade of dedication at Shantou University," Lai concluded. While his peers pursued publication metrics, he quietly advanced industry-university collaboration projects, working with research teams from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tongji University on joint research into chip design-for-testability. Within Shantou University's "unconventional" research environment, these "non-mainstream" practices became the differentiating advantage that led to securing a national-level major project.
Holding Steadfast to the "Physical Origin" Amidst the AI Hype
While the academic community fervently discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) is "disrupting" all fields, Lai Liyang's computer screen remains filled with the topological paths of built-in self-test units and scan chains. In Lai's view, AI is fundamentally a computer algorithm. Although AI excels in specific domains such as image classification, its effectiveness heavily relies on training with large-scale data. In specialized fields like chip testing, the critical data needed to solve core problems are often scarce, making it difficult to support effective AI model training.
More critically, breakthroughs in chip testing heavily depend on deep domain knowledge and targeted solutions. Lai emphasizes that innovation in core algorithms still relies on the deep involvement and insights of domain experts. Therefore, he states plainly, "For many key aspects of chip design, particularly design-for-testability, the time for large-scale AI application has not yet arrived."
Returning to the essential needs of the industry, Lai believes the challenges faced by enterprises have never changed: how to continuously improve chip testability, "reduce testing costs, and ensure yield improvement" to facilitate the industry cycle. His steadfast adherence to the "physical origin" lies precisely here: mastering and optimizing these fundamental principles and methods, and adhering to the most essential needs of the industry. This underlying logic can adapt to any change. Whether the current mainstream is semiconductor transistors or potentially quantum chips in the future, "there will always be a need for design-for-testability, and research will gravitate in that direction."
Thus, over the years, Lai Liyang has diligently refined his teaching of foundational professional courses for undergraduates, transforming industrial case studies into hands-on training projects. He extracts a small, cutting-edge component from his field and designs it as a first-level project for students: "If one-third of the students truly engage with it, that is a success." When supervising master's students, he encourages independent exploration while providing detailed guidance on every line of code during weekly group meetings. Some undergraduates in his classes, impressed by his "dedication and achievements," have chosen to become his graduate students. Some of his master's students, whose "interest was ignited" by his mentorship, have decided to pursue doctoral studies.
Infusing Educational Exploration with Traditional Chinese Culture
In the College of Engineering at Shantou University, Professor Lai Liyang's classroom is distinctive for its "scholarly elegance." Alongside the precise exposition of scientific principles and technological applications, philosophical reflections on the phenology of the solar terms and effortlessly quoted lines from classical poetry flow naturally during his lessons. When asked about his intention, Lai candidly states, "Traditional culture runs in the blood of the Chinese people." He sees no conflict between scientific research and traditional culture, and his classroom expressions are always spontaneous and heartfelt.
This identification with traditional culture permeates all aspects of his educational approach. Lai Liyang esteems the educational philosophy of leading by example—that those above set an example for those below to follow. To this end, he insists on teaching at 8 a.m., practicing the ancient adage, "Rise early, have three abundances; rise late, have three panics." He routinely wakes up between 3 and 4 a.m., works, and rests around 9 p.m., incorporating the guidance of the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine), a classic of traditional Chinese medicine, into his life. He silently passes this self-discipline on to his students: "By being a good role model myself, students see it and will unconsciously learn and imitate it during their growth."
Rather than a "scientist," Lai Liyang prefers to call himself a "diligent lecturer and engineer." He is committed to "stimulating students' curiosity and desire for knowledge," aiming not only to impart knowledge but also to cultivate problem-solving abilities. He values the spiritual guidance that "people should always have ideals and work on something scarce in society." "First, cultivate the person; then, the talent emerges," Lai often quotes. He frequently uses the saying of Zhang Zai, a philosopher from the Northern Song Dynasty, "Adversity and hardship are the whetstones that perfect a person," to encourage himself, and also employs the philosophical resignation that "life is full of frustrations" to inspire students to face reality and adjust their expectations. He candidly states, "Adversity is the best training for one's abilities and will. So we must be especially grateful to our nation and countless forebears, allowing us today to realize our life aspirations without sacrificing our lives. Of course, difficulties and trials will not be lacking." These spiritual nutrients, drawn from millennia of wisdom, have become a unique force for enlightening students to calmly face research challenges and life's ups and downs.
Between the keyboard and the lectern, Lai Liyang uses the "self-test gene" to forge the resilience of Chinese chips, using the 24 solar terms to awaken the spirit of engineering students. His story demonstrates that true innovation begins with insight into "real problems," is achieved through steadfast dedication to "real needs," and ultimately aims at cultivating "real talent." This, perhaps, is the most profound contribution a science and technology worker can offer to our era.
