Hu Haichang (; April 25, 1928 – February 21, 2011) was a Chinese mechanical and aerospace engineer. He was in charge of the early phase development for the

Dong Fang Hong I ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the western world also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong space satellite prog ...

, China's first artificial satellite. Hu was an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

Biography

Hu was born in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

in April 1928. Hu graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering,

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the na ...

in Hangzhou, and his academic advisor was

Chien Wei-zang Qian Weichang or Chien Wei-zang (; 9 October 1912 – 30 July 2010) was a Chinese physicist and applied mathematician, as well as academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as President of Shanghai University. Career Qian was b ...

. After graduation, Hu joined the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, which was mainly founded by

Tsien Hsue-shen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering ...

in 1950s. From 1968 until retired, Hu worked for the CAS Department of Spacecraft System Design. Hu mainly generalized some versatile variational principles especially in

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togethe ...

mechanics and promoted their corresponding applications such as in the spacecraft system design. Hu worked for China's spacecraft system design as early as 1966. Hu was in charge of the general system and structure design both for the Dong Fang Hong I and Dong Fang Hong II satellites in their early development phases. In 1993, Hu became a senior advisor and member of the Science and Technology Commission of the

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic ...

, a technical consultant of the

China Academy of Space Technology The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) () is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The agency was founded on 20 February 1968, and is the main spacecraft development and prod ...

. He was also the Honorary Director of the Science and Technology Commission of the Department of Spacecraft System Design. Hu was the Chief Director of the Chinese Society for Vibrational Engineering (中国振动工程学会) and a vice-president of the Chinese Society of Mechanics (中国力学学会). Hu was a part-time professor of

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

, Zhejiang University and

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU; ; often abbreviated JLU or ) is a leading national research university located in Changchun, China. It is under the direct jurisdiction of China's Ministry of Education. It is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Dou ...

, and he was titled as an Honorary Professor of

Qingdao University Qingdao University (abbreviation: QDU/QDU Med school; ) is a key provincial research university located in Qingdao, Shandong, China. The university was first established in 1985. In 1993, the former Qingdao University, Qingdao Medical College, ...

. Hu was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Academic contributions

The '' Hu–Washizu principle'' and the ''Hu–Washizu functional'' in

continuum mechanics Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass rather than as discrete particles. The French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy was the first to formulate such m ...

is named after him. The ''Hu Hai-chang's solution'' or ''Hu's solution'' for the 3-dimensional problems in the theory of elasticity of a transversely isotropic body, is also named after Hu.SpringerLink: On the completeness of Hu Hai chang's solution
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References

External links

China Academy of Space Technology: The Biography of Hu Haichang
(, including photo)
China Vitae: Biography of Hu Haichang
(, including photo)
The Holeung Ho Lee Foundation: Abstract of Hu Haichang
(, including photo) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Haichang 1928 births 2011 deaths Chinese aerospace engineers Chinese mechanical engineers Engineers from Zhejiang Academic staff of Jilin University Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Peking University Zhejiang University alumni Academic staff of Zhejiang University