"When you choose this industry, you are donating yourself to the country." Recently, Yang Desen, an academician of the CAE and professor of Harbin Engineering University, taught the "First Lesson" to the students of College of Underwater Acoustic Engineering. For many years, no matter how busy he was, he insisted on giving his students the first lesson of "Underwater Acoustics" every year.

"We rely on acoustics for communication. Do you think underwater acoustics is very mysterious? In fact, replacing air with water is underwater acoustics." Yang Desen, using his decades of underwater acoustic working experience as clues, combined with reality, unveiled the mystery of underwater acoustics for students. "Underwater acoustics is a landmark course for students majoring in underwater acoustics, and learning this course well is the foundation for their future study in the field of underwater acoustics."

To his delight, more and more young students nowadays choose to study underwater acoustics. "More than 40 years ago, when I was studying underwater acoustics, there were only two classes, but now we have 12 classes a year, and the supply of graduate students is still not adequate to the demand, which indicates that China’s marine industry has made great progress." He sighed with emotion, "This also puts forward higher requirements for our talent cultivation. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China required us to strengthen the independent cultivation of talents. For underwater acoustics majors, the cultivation of underwater acoustic talents can only rely on ourselves."

Yang Desen encourages young students to not only cultivate strong skills, but also keep the heavy responsibility of the country in heart and inherit the qualities of generations of underwater acoustic researchers who are fearless of hardship and brave to overcome great difficulties. " To be a person, to do things, to learn, for the ship, for the sea, and to serve national defense".