Lu Shijia (; March 18, 1911 – August 29, 1986), also known as Hsiu-Chen Chang-Lu, was a Chinese physicist and aerospace engineer who helped create China's first high-speed

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

. She founded and chaired the

aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

program at

Beihang University Beihang University, previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), abbreviated as BUAA or Beihang ( zh, c=北航, p=), is a national public research university located in Beijing, China, specializing in engineering, t ...

, the first in the country.

Early life and education

She was born Lu Xiuzhen () in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

(Soochow) on March 18, 1911, the final year of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Her

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was

Xiaoshan Xiaoshan is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Xiaoshan was formerly a city in its own right, separated by the Qiantang River from Hangzhou proper, but the municipal ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. Soon after she was born, her grandfather , who served as Governor of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, and her father , were both killed by

Yan Xishan Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960, ) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. He effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in ...

during the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

. Her superstitious mother blamed the baby for her father's death, and gave her away to be raised by a paternal uncle. She attended the primary school and the High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, where

Qian Xuesen 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 engineeri ...

and her future husband Zhang Wei were her classmates. Inspired by

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

, she entered the Physics Department of

Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU, ), colloquially known as Beishida (), is a public research university located in Beijing, China, with a strong emphasis on humanities and sciences. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China ...

as the only female student. After graduating in 1933, she taught at the Fifth Women's Normal School in Daming, Hebei, and Zhicheng Middle School in Beijing. With financial help from her maternal uncle, the renowned doctor

Shi Jinmo Shi Jinmo (; March 28, 1881 – August 22, 1969), former name Shi Yuqian (), was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. His ancestral hometown was Kanshan Town, Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, and he was born in Guizhou Province. He advocated the int ...

, Lu went to study in Germany in 1937. She studied at

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The o ...

and received her Ph.D. in fluid mechanics in 1942. Her supervisor was

Ludwig Prandtl Ludwig Prandtl (4 February 1875 – 15 August 1953) was a German fluid dynamicist, physicist and aerospace scientist. He was a pioneer in the development of rigorous systematic mathematical analyses which he used for underlying the science of ...

, one of the founders of modern fluid mechanics. She was the only Chinese student and the only female graduate student of Prandtl.

Career

After the end of the Second World War, Lu returned to China in 1946. She taught at

Tongji University Tongji University () is a comprehensive public research university located in Shanghai. Established in 1907 by the German government together with German physicians in Shanghai, Tongji is one of the longest-standing, most selective, and most pr ...

, the Aeronautics Department of

Peiyang University National Peiyang University (北洋大学堂), originally Imperial Tientsin University, was established in Tianjin in October 1895 by Sheng Xuanhuai, the official of the Tianjin Customs, with the approval of the Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty. I ...

, and the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

. She joined the China Democratic League in 1951. In 1952, Lu became a member of the preparatory committee for the establishment of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics (now

). In 1962, she founded Beihang's aerodynamics program, the first in China, and served as its first chair. At Beihang she helped create China's first high-speed

. When 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 ...

resumed its election for academicians in 1980 after the end of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, Lu was nominated twice, but she declined both times and insisted on giving the opportunity to a younger scientist. She was a member of the first, second, and third

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...

es, the fifth and sixth

CPPCC The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

Standing Committees, the Standing Committee of the China Democratic League Central Committee, and the Executive Committee of the

All-China Women's Federation The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF; ) is a women's rights people's organization established in China on 24 March 1949. It was originally called the All-China Democratic Women's Foundation, and was renamed the All-China Women's Federation in ...

. She also served as Vice Chair of the China Aerodynamics Research Association.

Personal life

In 1941, Lu married scientist Zhang Wei, her elementary school classmate, in Germany. Zhang was a member of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

, and served as Vice President of Tsinghua University. The couple had a son, Zhang Kecheng (), and a daughter, Zhang Kequn (). Kequn's son

Gao Xiaosong Gao Xiaosong (; born 14 November 1969) is a Chinese American composer, songwriter, music producer, and director. He was the Chairman of Alibaba Entertainment Strategic Committee and AliMusic. In 2009, Gao was appointed Honorary President of ...

is a renowned musician.

Death and legacy

Lu died in Beijing in August 1986, and her husband died in 2001. According to their will, their children mixed their ashes together and dispersed them in the lotus pond on the Tsinghua campus. On the first anniversary of her death,

presided over a scientific symposium held in her memory. On March 18, 2017, Lu's 106th birthday, Beihang University established the Lu Shijia Laboratory, the first university laboratory in China named after a female scientist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Shijia 1911 births 1986 deaths Chinese women physicists Scientists from Suzhou Beijing Normal University alumni Physicists from Jiangsu Fluid dynamicists Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Academic staff of the Technical University of Berlin University of Göttingen alumni Members of the Standing Committee of the 5th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chinese expatriates in Germany Academic staff of Tongji University Academic staff of Tianjin University Academic staff of Tsinghua University Academic staff of Beihang University Chinese aerospace engineers Engineers from Jiangsu Chinese women engineers