Hu Peiquan (; 19 June 1920 – 19 February 2019) was a Chinese engineering mechanician, aerospace engineer, and educator. He was a distinguished professor and founder of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Northwestern Polytechnical University. He founded the ''Journal of Northwestern Polytechnical University'' and served as its chief editor for more than 60 years.

Early life and education

Hu was born on 19 June 1920 in Wuxi, Jiangsu,

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. At age 16, he was admitted to

St. John's University, Shanghai St. John's University (SJU) was a Christian university in Shanghai. Founded in 1879 by American missionaries, it was one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, often regarded as the Harvard of China. After the founding of th ...

, and graduated four years later with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He then went to the United States to study at the University of Michigan, where he earned his master's degree at age 21 and his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics at age 24.

Career

In 1944, Hu became a researcher at the

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...

of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the predecessor of NASA). He was promoted to senior engineer within three years, at the age of only 27. In 1948, Hu returned to China to teach at his alma mater, St. John's University. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the missionary St. John's University was closed in 1952 and Hu became a professor at the

East China Aeronautics Institute Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU; ) is a national key public research university in Xi'an, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The university is a Chinese national Class A Double ...

. Four years later, East China Aeronautics Institute was relocated to Xi'an in Northwest China and then became part of the new Northwestern Polytechnical University. Hu moved to Xi'an and spent the rest of his career at the university, while his wife and daughter stayed in Wuxi. Together with Ji Wenmei (), Hu founded the engineering mechanics department at Northwestern Polytechnical University, and it was one of the first in China. In 1961, the university established one of the first graduate programs in China, with Hu serving as director, and

Zhou Yaohe Zhou Yaohe ( May 1927 – 30 July 2018) was a Chinese materials scientist. He was elected as academician of the Chinese Academy of Science in 1991. Born in May 1927, Zhou attended Tsinghua University. He went to the Soviet Union in 1953, and retu ...

as his deputy. Of the 61 students accepted into the first class of the program, two were later elected academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and many became university presidents, corporate chief executives, or chief engineers. Hu founded the ''Journal of Northwestern Polytechnical University'' in 1957 and served as its chief editor for more than 60 years.

Death

Hu died on 19 February 2019 in Xi'an, at the age of 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Peiquan 1920 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Wuxi Educators from Wuxi Engineers from Jiangsu St. John's University, Shanghai alumni University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Chinese mechanical engineers Chinese aerospace engineers St. John's University, Shanghai faculty Northwestern Polytechnical University faculty Academic journal editors Chinese expatriates in the United States NASA people People's Republic of China science writers Writers from Wuxi