Shu-tian Li (Shu-tien Li; ) (1900 – 1988) was a Chinese-American hydraulic engineer. After receiving a Ph.D. degree in engineering and economics from

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 teach an ...

in 1926, Li returned to China to assume a professorship at the

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 ...

. He became the executive officer of Northern China Hydraulic Commission in 1928. He was a founder of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society and served as its deputy president and then president for six terms. Later he was appointed to lead the Yellow River Commission. At the age of 28, Li was chosen as the president of Tangshan College of Engineering and became the youngest college administrator in China. In 1932, he was named the President of the Peiyang Engineering College. He was the longest serving president in Peiyang's first 56 years of history. Under his leadership, Peiyang established one of the first graduate engineering programs and the first hydraulic engineering laboratory in China. Between 1937 and 1949, he led the establishment of several national colleges and universities in western and southwestern China (e.g. and ). During his leadership at the Si-kang Institute of Technology, the Panzhihua Mine, one of the largest iron (and rare metal) deposits in the world, was discovered. In recognition of his contribution to hydraulic engineering and to China during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Li was awarded a First Order Hydraulic Gold Medal and an Order of Victory of Resistance Against Aggression, respectively, from the Chinese government after the war. He was elected to the National Peking Academy of Sciences in 1948. He published many research papers and books on the management and improvement of the nation's water resources, Yellow River basin and northern China harbor. Among these publications, "The Chinese Hydraulic Issues" (), the first comprehensive review and scientific recommendation regarding Chinese water resources, established him as the leading hydraulic engineering authority in China in the 1940s. Li returned to the United States in 1950 to start private engineering practice and academic teaching/research. The Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) awarded Li the CIE annual award in 1963 for his work on the Unified Energy-Matrix Analysis. For his contribution to concrete engineering, he received the highest award from the

American Concrete Institute The American Concrete Institute (ACI, formerly National Association of Cement Users or NACU) is a non-profit technical society and standards developing organization. ACI was founded in January 1905 during a convention in Indianapolis. The Institu ...

in 1985. He also served on a US congressional advisory board. He was credited with establishing the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of America. He published 17 books and more than 800 research papers during his lifetime. Li died at the age of 88. He was an active

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

and a devout

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

during his life.

Personal life

His brother, Shu-hua Li or

Li Shu-hua Li Shu-hua (, courtesy name: Runzhang 潤章, 23 September 1890 – 5 July 1979) was a Chinese biophysicist and politician. He was an educator, and administrator at Beijing University and a Chinese diplomat. He was the brother of Li Shu-tie ...

() was a biophysicist, a former Secretary of Education in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and contributed to the founding of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Li was the maternal grandfather of

Gilbert Chu Gilbert Chu () is an American biochemist. He is a Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and Biochemistry at the Stanford Medical School. Biography Chu graduated from Garden City High School in New York in 1963. He received a B.A. in Physics from Pri ...

, a biochemist and professor of biochemistry at Stanford University,

Steven Chu Steven ChuNobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner in physics and the U.S. Secretary of Energy in the

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Administration and

Morgan Chu Morgan Chu (born December 27, 1950), (Chinese: 朱慶文; pinyin: Zhū Qìngwén) is an American intellectual property attorney. A high-school dropout, Chu went on to earn advanced degrees from Harvard, Yale and UCLA. In 2007, UCLA awarded Chu ...

, a patent lawyer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shu-tian 1900 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American engineers American civil engineers Chinese civil engineers Chinese Civil War refugees Chinese emigrants to the United States Concrete pioneers Cornell University alumni Educators from Hebei Engineers from Hebei Academic staff of Guizhou University Hydraulic engineers Academic staff of the Northwestern Polytechnical University People from Qinhuangdao Presidents of universities and colleges in China Southern Baptists Academic staff of the Southwest Jiaotong University Tianjin University alumni Academic staff of Tianjin University Water resources management Yellow River