Lu Gwei-djen (; July 22, 1904 – November 28, 1991) was a Chinese biochemist and historian. She was an expert on the history of science and technology in China and a researcher of nutriology. She was an important researcher and co-author of the project '' Science and Civilisation in China'' led by

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, i ...

Career

Lu began her distinguished career teaching biochemistry at the Women's Medical College in Shanghai between 1928–30, then moved to teach at the Medical School at

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 the ...

between 1930-33. She then took up a post as Research Assistant at the Henry Lester Institute for Medical Research, Shanghai from 1933-37. In 1938, she came to the UK for a year's postgraduate study at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

under Dorothy M. Needham, as a research student at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

. In 1939, during World War II, she took up a post as Research Fellow at the Institute of Experimental Biochemistry,

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, and at the Harriman Research Lab, San Francisco, from 1939-41. She moved to the Hillman Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama from 1941–42, and then to the International Cancer Research Foundation, Philadelphia, from 1942-45. In 1945, she joined the Needhams in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

as a consultant for nutrition at the Co-operation office and in 1948, moved to Paris to work at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

at the secretariat for natural sciences. From 1947 onwards, she was a Research Fellow of the Wellcome Medical Foundation, working with Dr

in Cambridge on the 'Science & Civilisation in China' project. She was a Foundation Fellow of

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. History The college was founded in 1965 by fe ...

Works

Among the work on which she is credited as co-author are: * * * * *

Legacy

The ''Lu Gwei-Djen Prize for the History of Science'' awarded by

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

is named in her honour as is the ''Lu Gwei Djen Research Fellowship'' awarded by

- a position previously held by

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. Bi ...

Dr Eileen Nugent.

Personal life

The daughter of a pharmacist, she was well known as Needham's long-time collaborator, co-author,

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

teacher and his second wife. Also published as ''Gun, Book and Compass''.

References

Additional sources

* Also published as ''Gun, Book and Compass''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu Gwei-Djen 1904 births 1991 deaths Joseph Needham Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Chinese biochemists Chinese emigrants to the United Kingdom Fellows of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Chinese sinologists Writers from Nanjing Chinese science writers Chemists from Jiangsu Historians from Jiangsu 20th-century Chinese historians Scientists from Nanjing Biologists from Jiangsu