Dai Yingqui represents the face of modern China – performing exacting measurements and tests with formidable exactitude in her laboratory.

People like her are said to be the mainspring of new innovation in the nation.

"Dr. Dai is meticulous in her work. She is professional and she can lead us to resolve key technical problems," said a colleague.

Born in Southwest China's Yunnan province in 1992, Dai gained a doctorate from the University of Science and Technology of China and is now a product manager at CIQTEK, a manufacturer and provider of quantum precision measurement products based in the Hefei high-tech zone – located in Hefei city, capital of East China's Anhui province.

"My team does quantum precision measurements," she explained.

Dai said that taking quantum measurements is like using a ruler, but to an extraordinarily high level of precision. These readings can measure objects smaller than nanometers, so that scans can be made of higher resolution magnetism and temperatures, among other things.

Currently, Dai's team has developed an electronic paramagnetic resonance spectrometer that fills the gap in the related field in China.

"Some food or Chinese medicines eaten in life need to go through the irradiation sterilization link before leaving the factory, which can extend the shelf life of food and medicine." Dai said.

She added that in the factory, the irradiation process presented the possibility of overdoses in the past, but with the company's electronic paramagnetic resonances it could now accurately detect irradiation measurements, to ensure safety.

Dai Yingqiu works quietly but diligently in her lab. [Photo/api.app.anhuinews.com]

Discussing her pursuit of her dreams in Anhui, Dai said the province had  a deep and inclusive culture with a history spanning thousands of years.

It also had a strong atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship and was a hot spot for science and technological innovation, which was conducive for researchers to apply whatever ideas they had learned towards innovative practices.