Research is: a marathon, not a sprint.

December 17, 2025 – Edmonton, Canada

Hope Walls with Yuxuan Li

Yuxuan comes across as quiet and laid back but he is, in fact, very adventurous. He loves to travel and explore and experience everything that life has to offer, which included an opportunity to spend a year in Edmonton. Despite arriving on one of the coldest days of January 2025, he quickly fell into a rhythm of long river valley walks, quiet northern evenings, and a research community that reshaped the way he thinks about both science and life.

Yuxuan was in the latter part of his PhD studies at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences when he joined [RG]² as a joint China Scholarship Council PhD scholar. The plan was simply to work with Professor Rick Chalaturnyk but his time here had more to offer than even Yuxuan had bargained for. By the time his visit concludes and he returns to China in a couple of weeks, the experience will have left as lasting an imprint on his research direction as his personal outlook.

Yuxuan’s research sits at the intersection of energy production and climate responsibility. His PhD focuses on coupled numerical modelling of natural gas hydrate production and CO₂ hydrate-based subsea carbon sequestration. The work explores how methane hydrates can be produced while simultaneously storing carbon dioxide in stable hydrate form, particularly in real geological settings such as the South China Sea and permafrost regions. Technically complex and deeply interdisciplinary, the research reflects a broader ambition: finding subsurface solutions that link energy security with long-term climate stewardship.

That ambition took a significant step forward during his year with [RG]². Yuxuan reshaped his PhD project, completed four papers, and built a conceptual and numerical bridge between natural gas hydrate production and long-term CO₂ storage. Rather than treating these as separate challenges, his work frames them as parts of a single, integrated system that must remain stable and safe over hundreds to thousands of years. Here, this long-held idea became tangible.

[RG]² was a natural place for that transformation. Yuxuan was drawn to the group’s GeoInnovation Environments—GeoREF, GeoCERF, GeoPRINT, GeoFLD, and GeoRMT—which connect pore-scale experiments, reservoir-scale modelling, and field-relevant applications. Initiatives such as GeoSAFETY, with their focus on ethical and practical subsurface solutions, closely matched his research goals. Just as important was the group’s international and collaborative culture, where discussions move easily across disciplines and perspectives.

Life beyond the lab played an equally important role. Edmonton inspired Yuxuan with how quickly nature becomes part of daily life. Long walks through the river valley and watching the sky shift with the seasons became a grounding ritual. During this year, he adopted what he calls a “slow life” routine—cooking simple meals, closing his laptop for a few hours each day, and reminding himself that a PhD is a marathon, not a sprint. These habits helped him stay balanced during the most demanding phase of his degree.

Community within [RG]² also left a lasting impression. Some of Yuxuan’s favourite memories come from group meetings, especially the informal games organized afterward. Light-hearted and inclusive, they helped him feel connected quickly and reinforced an important lesson: serious research does not require constant seriousness. A supportive, playful atmosphere can strengthen creativity and resilience.

Yuxuan was surprised by how emotional the final stage felt. He expected it to be dominated by technical details, but instead found himself learning how to let go—of endless revisions, of perfectionism, and of a chapter of life shaped by deadlines. “The last ten percent,” he reflects, “was less about solving equations and more about accepting that ‘good and honest’ can be better than ‘never finished.’”

Looking ahead, Yuxuan is excited about guilt-free weekends, longer trips to the mountains, and time with family without a looming deadline. Beyond that, he holds a clear long-term dream: becoming a professor and guiding his own research team. He hopes to build an environment that mirrors what he experienced at [RG]²—one that values rigorous science, collaboration, mentorship, and balance, while tackling pressing energy and climate challenges.

Edmonton will remain part of that story. The long summer evenings, the sudden burst of autumn colour, and the openness of people both on and off campus made a year far from home feel welcoming. Asked for a guiding principle, Yuxuan points to a simple quote: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” It reflects his approach to research and to life. His favourite dinosaur, Triceratops—strong, slightly stubborn, but peaceful—feels like a fitting metaphor. Resilient yet gentle, Yuxuan leaves [RG]² with a clearer sense of who he is as a researcher, and who he hopes to become.