Genius China engineer cements love with concrete engagement ring

Solid bond: Yao slips the concrete ring onto the finger of his now wife. Photo: Weibo

• Outstanding alumnus of top university accused of being 'cheap' online

A post-doctoral graduate, whose invention was used on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics arena, has been derided for using an engagement ring made of cement to propose to his future wife.

Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious in China, refers to Yao Guoyou, 36, as an outstanding alumnus.

As a doctoral student in the School of Civil Engineering from 2011 to 2016, Yao worked tirelessly to invent a nano silicon ion material that increases the waterproofing quality and lifespan of the most widely used building material in the world.

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The clever graduate sprayed the material on China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and many other hydraulic engineering projects, to test and promote it.

"It proved to be a great success," Yao said.

His invention won him the Tsinghua Qihang Scholarship Gold Award in 2016. At the awards ceremony, he proposed to his girlfriend, now his wife, with a cement ring he had made and sprayed with his invention.

"The ring suggests that our love will not corrode or degenerate in 100 years," Yao said.

On mainland social media, many considered it a romantic gesture, while some viewed it as "cheap and insincere", even nicknaming Yao "cement brother".

"The material he invented could sustain dams and bridges, and he used it to give her a lifelong promise as strong as that cement. This science romance is so much more beautiful than silver and gold rings," one observer wrote on Douyin.

"He should have given her his patent, rather than a piece of cement. That would have shown his sincerity," joked another.

One woman accused Yao of being a narcissist: "Is the ring a proof of his success or his love for her?"

"Why is the crystal structure of carbon worthwhile and romantic, but not the nano silicon ion?" another said, pointing out the properties of diamonds.

In 2017, Yao founded his company Guardex, which specialises in the invention and application of cement waterproofing materials.

His products were used on the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon, which was built for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

He also promoted the material for use in impoverished areas that cannot afford to buy it.

In 2018, he donated some to a Guangxi village in southern China and arranged for his staff to teach the locals how to use it.

Yao is the corporate representative of 15 companies and the owner of about 60 patents.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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