Rao Yutai (; December 1, 1891 – October 16, 1968) was a Chinese physicist, one of the founders of modern physics in China. He was a founding member of Academia Sinica in 1948 and 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 ...

in 1955.

Early years

Rao was born in

Linchuan Linchuan District () is one of two districts of the city of Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Before A.D. 762, the administration region located in Chi gang, since then, the administration region moved to western bank of Lianfa ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, Qing Empire in December 1891. His father was a government officer in Qing Dynasty. He studied Chinese classical literature in childhood. In 1905, he went to study in a high school in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Dr.

Hu Shih Hu Shih (; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962), also known as Hu Suh in early references, was a Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, and politician. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese libera ...

taught his English.

University

In 1913, Rao went to study in the United States, sponsored by the government. He was first recruited to the University of California, and moved to the University of Chicago. He obtained his bachelor in physics in winter 1917. He enrolled in the graduate school at Harvard University in 1918. Later, he moved to Yale University and then Princeton University. He received his master's degree from Princeton in 1921, and his doctorate in 1922. His dissertation was on the emission efficiency of low-pressure electrical arcs, under the supervision of K.T. Compton. He returned to China and was recruited to Nankai University, where he founded the department of physics and served as chair. His notable students include Wu Ta-You, Wu Daren, Yung-huai Kuo, Jiang Zehan, Ma Shijun, Shen Youzhen,

Shiing-shen Chern Shiing-Shen Chern (; , ; October 28, 1911 – December 3, 2004) was a Chinese-American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geome ...

and Zheng Huazhi.

Research Abroad

In 1929, Rao went to do research at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in Germany. He returned in 1932 and became a fellow in the physics institute of the Peking Research Institute. He later became the chair of the physics department at Peking University, and was promoted to Dean of the school of science in 1935. He was the chair of the physics department at the National Southwestern Associated University during the Sino-Japanese War. From 1944 to 1947, he studied the molecular spectra in the United States, in collaboration with A. H. Nielsen. In 1949, Rao chose to stay at Peking University, upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China. He continued to serve as dean and chair of physics until 1951. He was elected as member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955.

Persecution

Rao was severely persecuted in

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 goa ...

. He committed suicide on the University campus on October 16, 1968. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1978.

Honors

In 2000, the Chinese Physical Society established five prizes, in recognition of five pioneers of modern physics in China. The is awarded to physicists in Optics, Acoustics, Atomic and Molecular physics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Yutai 1891 births 1968 deaths Educators from Jiangxi Members of Academia Sinica Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Nankai University Academic staff of the National Southwestern Associated University People from Fuzhou, Jiangxi Academic staff of Peking University Physicists from Jiangxi Suicides by hanging in China Suicides during the Cultural Revolution 1968 suicides