Hu Ning (; 1916–1997) was a Chinese physicist and writer.

Biography

Hu was born in Suqian,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, China on 11 February 1916. From 1928 to 1934, Hu studied at the Zhenjiang High School () in

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

, and

Suzhou High School Suzhou High School, officially the Suzhou High School of Jiangsu Province (), is a Chinese public high school of one-millennium rich history, located in Suzhou, Jiangsu. In AD 1035, the Northern Song politician and writer Fan Zhongyan founded the ...

in Suzhou. In 1935, Hu studied at the physical department of

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 n ...

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. From 1935 to 1937, Hu studied in the department of physics at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

in Beijing, where he graduated in 1938. After his graduation from Tsinghua, Hu became the

teaching assistant A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stude ...

for his professor

Zhou Peiyuan Zhou Peiyuan (; August 28, 1902 – November 24, 1993) was a Chinese theoretical physicist and politician. He served as president of Peking University, and was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Born in Yixing, Jiangsu, ...

in the department of physics. In 1940, Hu examed and won the

Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program () was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the United States, funded by the . In 1908, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to return to China the excess of Boxer Indemnity, amounting to ...

. In 1941, Hu went to study in the United States. Hu studied

fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. His doctoral advisor was

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( hu, ( szőllőskislaki) Kármán Tódor ; born Tivadar Mihály Kármán; 11 May 18816 May 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronaut ...

. Hu also studied

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...

under

Paul Sophus Epstein Paul Sophus Epstein (; Warsaw, Vistula Land, Russian Empire, March 20, 1883 – Pasadena, California, United States, February 8, 1966) was a Russian-American mathematical physics, mathematical physicist. He was known for his contributions t ...

during this period. Hu obtained his PhD in 1943 from Caltech. From 1944 to 1945, Hu stayed at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, and studied quantum field theory and basic particles theories under

Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (; ; 25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics ...

. From 1946 to 1949, Hu visited Europe. He worked at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland between 1946 and 1948. During this time he also visited the

Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute (Danish: ''Niels Bohr Institutet'') is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics ...

in Copenhagen. Hu went back to the United States, and from 1949 to 1950, Hu did research at the nuclear physics department of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, New York. In 1950, invited by the

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Ta-You Wu Wu Ta-You () (27 September 1907 – 4 March 2000) was a Chinese physicist and writer who worked in the United States, Canada, mainland China and Taiwan. He has been called the Father of Chinese Physics. Early life and education Wu was born i ...

(at that time, Wu headed the Theoretical Physics Division of the Canadian National Research Council), Hu went to Canada, and did research and lectured there. In 1951, Hu accepted the invitation from Peking University in Beijing, and went back to China. Hu was a long-time professor in the department of physics at Peking University. Since 1953, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Modern Physics () and the Institute of Nuclear Physics () 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 Republi ...

. From 1956 to 1959, Hu was a researcher and group leader at the

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, russian: Объединённый институт ядерных исследований, ОИЯИ), in Dubna, Moscow Oblast (110 km north of Moscow), Russia, is an international research c ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Since 1980, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics () of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Hu was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. Hu was appointed the first

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of Peking University Research Institute of Theoretical Physics (). Hu died in Beijing on 16 December 1997.

Publications

Hu wrote or edited some earliest textbooks of relativity and quantum physics in China, which are still in use: * 《電動力學》 (''Electrodynamics''); 1963 * 《场的量子理论》 (''Quantum Field Theory''); 1964 * 《廣義相對論和引力場理論》 (''General Relativity and Gravitation''); ; republished in 2000

References

External links

* ScienceNet.com News
著名理论物理学家胡宁先生铜像在北大落成
(The bronze statue of Prof. Hu Ning is completed in Peking University campus)
The biography of Hu Ning
from Hudong.com

by Guan Hong; /7301135394 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Ning 1916 births 1997 deaths Boxer Indemnity Scholarship recipients California Institute of Technology alumni Chinese nuclear physicists Educators from Suqian Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Peking University faculty People's Republic of China science writers People of the Republic of China Physicists from Jiangsu Scientists from Suqian Theoretical physicists Tsinghua University alumni Tsinghua University faculty Writers from Suqian Zhejiang University alumni Chinese expatriates in the United States Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies