In just a few years, Su Wang of Dundee, who has died aged 60, progressed from washing dishes and contract cleaning, to gaining her doctorate in environmental health engineering.
By day, from 1996 onwards, she would clean lecture halls at the University of Surrey and in her spare time she would practise her English with colleagues.
Su then joined the ranks of students at the same university in 2000 to study for her PhD, focusing on alternative water treatments.
This qualification enabled her to take up a post as a postdoctoral research fellow at Dundee University, where she developed and evaluated anti-bacterial coatings.
In more recent years she had embarked on a new career in antiques, specialising in Chinese artefacts and British oil paintings.
Sue Wang was born in March 1963 in Dalian, China, a coastal city renowned for its seafood and scenic coastline. It is also a major port and an entry point for foreign goods coming into the country.
Her father, Guozuo Wang, was a physics lecturer at Dalian University and her mother, Yuqing, was the equivalent of finance director at the Dalian Import and Export Commodity Inspection Bureau.
She grew up with a sister, Qian, and went to primary and secondary school in Dalian where she was fond of music and dancing.
In 1981, when she finished school, Su studied engineering at Dalian University before starting work as a trainee accountant at Dalian Port Communications Station.
She qualified in 1992 and during her six years working in accountancy she met her future husband, Qi Zhao, a professor at Dalian University of Technology.
They married in China in 1989, had their son, Buyun, and in 1993, Qi took up a post in Edinburgh. Su and Buyun arrived in Scotland to join him the following year.
In 1996 Qi became a research fellow at Surrey University and the family moved to Guildford.
It was then Su began work as a cleaner and took on jobs washing dishes in restaurants to help support the family.
In 2001 the family moved to Dundee when Qi Zhao was appointed as lecturer and later, professor of materials science and engineering at the School of Science and Engineering at Dundee University. Su began her research work in 2005.
Her son, Buyun, said: “Although she primarily focused on research rather than teaching, she occasionally taught classes and gave seminars at many international conferences.
“From 2005 to 2012, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Dundee’s biomaterials laboratory, contributing to several significant projects. She developed and evaluated anti-bacterial coatings and published extensively in her field.
“In 2012 she took a career break from research academia to frequently go back to China to care for her mother.
“She then ventured into the antiques world in 2015, frequenting charity shops and the Errol Sunday Market, becoming well-known among the local antiques community. She had a particular interest in Chinese antiques and British oil paintings, amassing a considerable collection she hoped to pass on to her grandson.
“My mother devoted much of her time to her grandson, Noah Zhao, looking after him for over two years.
“They often visited antique shops and children’s parks in Dundee, sharing her love for antiques with him. One of her dying wishes was to bequeath her grandson with her antique treasures for safekeeping.”
Conversation