The ‘goddess’ behind the Bac Dau navigation satellite system

Tu Ying, 43 years old, is from Sichuan province, southwest China. She was born into a family with a mother who is a math teacher and a father who is an agricultural engineer. Starting elementary school at the age of 4, she soon showed her talent and deep passion for physics and mathematics.

Tu Dinh went to college when he was 16 years old, studying communications engineering and consistently ranked first in his class. At the age of 20, she studied a combined master’s and doctoral program at the Beijing Institute of Technology and three years later, joined the development team of BeiDou – China’s domestic satellite navigation system.

Bac Dau is being applied in transportation, weather forecasting, natural disaster relief and public security, and is cooperating with 137 countries and territories. This system is considered a competitor to US GPS and Russia’s GLONASS. The industry surrounding the system generated an output value of 1.33 trillion yuan ($196 billion) last year.

During the early stages of his career at the Bac Dau project, inaccurate calculations and unfamiliar research methods hindered Tu Dinh’s progress. This prompted her to spend nights in the laboratory and devote her weekends to repetitive experiments. That determination has helped her affirm her position as a core member of the team.

During the 2013 Nha’an earthquake in Sichuan, when communication systems were paralyzed, BeiDou became an important lifeline for rescue forces. Tu Dinh’s team provided precise positioning support throughout the disaster area.

“Bac Dau is not simply a scientific project, but a beacon of life rescuing people from danger,” Tu Dinh said.

For years, Bac Dau faced public skepticism, with critics labeling the system a mere copy of GPS and questioning the value of its huge investment. Tu Dinh has worked to change this perception by leveraging mass platforms to explain the system in easy-to-understand and engaging terms.

In a viral talk with more than 20 million views online, she demonstrated how the Big Dipper supports drones in agricultural missions and helps scientists track endangered animals.

This presentation brought public attention to her and gave her the title “Goddess of the Big Dipper”.

However, Tu Dinh does not approve of this title, she believes that it is more suitable for KOLs (influencers) on social networks. She wants to be recognized more as a “young scientific researcher”.

“Don’t look down on a girl when she’s at the bottom of the mountain and don’t deify her when she’s reached the top,” Tu Dinh said.

Xu Ying received her doctorate at the age of 26 and became the youngest doctoral student supervisor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the age of 32. Projects she led have secured more than 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) in funding. She has applied for 38 invention patents.

After receiving his doctorate, Tu Dinh encountered gender bias in job interviews; a male interviewer commented that women are not suitable for scientific research.

“There is no gender that is unsuitable for scientific research, there are only unsuitable individuals,” she said.

According to Tu Dinh, women are most beautiful when pursuing their passion. In 2023, she was awarded many national awards, including the Young Scientist Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is holding the position of Deputy General Engineer of the Institute’s Positioning System.

The story of Tu Dinh has inspired online users.

“‘Goddess’ has never been the most accurate term to describe a talented woman. Her success stems from her abilities, achievements, talents and personality, not from her appearance,” one person commented.