Albert Lin is an engineer and explorer who uses the latest technology to unearth ancient secrets. As part of his TV programme Lost Cities, Lin has uncovered hidden cities of the past everywhere from Scotland to Sudan. As the owner of a high-tech prosthetic leg and foot, he also describes himself as an explorer of the “human frontier”, pushing into some of the world’s most physically challenging places. A prosthetic limb is one that’s made by humans.
Young adventurer
Albert’s middle name, Yu-Min, means “citizen of the universe” in Mandarin (a Chinese language). As a child, Lin was on the move a lot because his father was an astrophysicist (scientist who studies the universe) who worked in Europe and Russia. Lin says because he was the youngest of three children, he was always getting up to mischief.
While living in Cambridge, UK, he joined the Scouts. “When I came back to California, US, that’s all I wanted to do,” he tells The Week Junior Science+Nature. “I was in the mountains all the time, always wanting to be outdoors.” Rock climbing became his passion and Lin combined this with his engineering studies. "The mindset of an engineer is very problem-solving, and rock climbing is also very problem-solving," he says.
Search for the missing tomb
After gaining a doctorate (the highest level of academic studies) in engineering, Lin made the decision to try something completely different. He sold all his belongings and went to Mongolia, supported by National Geographic, a television network and magazine that explores nature, science and culture.
Lin's aim was to track down the burial place of Genghis Khan, a Mongolian leader who created the biggest empire in the world before he died in AD1227. "I started to feel like there was a lost history that wasn't being told to me, having grown up in the West," he says. "Living in Mongolia, I heard this story of Genghis Khan through a completely different lens, where he was a hero."
Lin says he thinks like a linguist (a languages expert) and is fluent in both English and Mandarin. When he visits a new place he makes an effort to learn some of the language of its residents. Even just a few words, he believes, helps you to "paint the world [as they would] in their mind."
A life-changing accid...
Young adventurer
Albert’s middle name, Yu-Min, means “citizen of the universe” in Mandarin (a Chinese language). As a child, Lin was on the move a lot because his father was an astrophysicist (scientist who studies the universe) who worked in Europe and Russia. Lin says because he was the youngest of three children, he was always getting up to mischief.
While living in Cambridge, UK, he joined the Scouts. “When I came back to California, US, that’s all I wanted to do,” he tells The Week Junior Science+Nature. “I was in the mountains all the time, always wanting to be outdoors.” Rock climbing became his passion and Lin combined this with his engineering studies. "The mindset of an engineer is very problem-solving, and rock climbing is also very problem-solving," he says.
Search for the missing tomb
After gaining a doctorate (the highest level of academic studies) in engineering, Lin made the decision to try something completely different. He sold all his belongings and went to Mongolia, supported by National Geographic, a television network and magazine that explores nature, science and culture.
Lin's aim was to track down the burial place of Genghis Khan, a Mongolian leader who created the biggest empire in the world before he died in AD1227. "I started to feel like there was a lost history that wasn't being told to me, having grown up in the West," he says. "Living in Mongolia, I heard this story of Genghis Khan through a completely different lens, where he was a hero."
Lin says he thinks like a linguist (a languages expert) and is fluent in both English and Mandarin. When he visits a new place he makes an effort to learn some of the language of its residents. Even just a few words, he believes, helps you to "paint the world [as they would] in their mind."
A life-changing accid...
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The Week Junior Science+nature Uk (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 72