Tung Hon Jeong (December 19, 1931 – May 4, 2015) was an international leader in the field of

holography Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, i ...

. He worked with Hans Bjelkhagen on technology to make true-color holograms and assisted in the development of the three-dimensional moving holograms. His research led to simple and economical holograms.

Early life

Jeong was born in December 1931 in Hoiping (now known as

Kaiping Kaiping (), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Hoiping, is a county-level city in Guangdong provinces of China, Province, China. It is located ín the western section of the Pearl River Delt ...

), China, Jeong birthday and biological parents were unknown to him as he was sold to a land owner sometime around the

1931 China floods The 1931 China floods, or the 1931 Yangtze–Huai River floods, occurred from June to August 1931 in China, hitting major cities such as Wuhan, Nanjing and beyond, which eventually culminated into a dike breach along Lake Gaoyou on 25 August 193 ...

. Later Jeong and his mother would flee to Hong Kong to avoid an invading Japanese army. Jeong would have to flee from Hong Kong to Macao and later from Macao back to his village in Hoiping to avoid bombings in both areas caused by

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 ...

. After World War II Jeong would again have to flee from China, this time from the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

who were after land owners like him and his family.

Education

After fleeing from China in 1948, Jeong eventually emigrated to Amarillo, Texas where he showed an inborn talent for mathematics and physics. Still only a young boy, one of his grade school teachers saw promise in him and decided to teach him English. Later in life Jeong would graduate from

Amarillo High School Amarillo High School is a school located in the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States and is one of four high schools in the Amarillo Independent School District and classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). In 2015 ...

as the second highest in his graduating class, and receive a full scholarship to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. By 1962 Jeong would continue his education by earning his PhD in nuclear physics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

; he would also meet his lifelong wife Anna in that same school.

Career

Shortly after getting his PhD in nuclear physics, Jeong would join the field of holography and would quickly become a recognized leader in the field. Jeong would produce several articles and scientific journals one of which being published in Applied Optics (the most widely read holography journal); Jeong would also produce two motion pictures one entitled "Introduction to Holography" which was sponsored by

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

. Jeong would be invited to lecture at over 500 universities and industrial sites all across the world, co-chair international conferences on holography, host holography workshops, and start the International Symposium on Display Holography. Jeong has also acted as a consultant to corporations in various industries on how to use and apply holography, one of these corporations being

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

which he worked with during their development of holographic photopolymers. In addition Jeong has chaired for the Practical Holography - Materials and Applications conference, Co-chaired at the International Symposium on Display Holography, and received the

Robert A. Millikan award The Robert A. Millikan award is a medal given to individuals who provide notable contributions to the teaching of physics. The award was established in 1962 and is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The winner receives ...

, Saxby Medal (of the

Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Holographic Manufacturer's Association. Additionally, Jeong was a professor at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

.Sullivan, Barbara
"Picture Of Success: Tung Hon Jeong Was A 12-year-old With A New Identity And A New Country. Now He's The Guru Of Holography"
'' chicagotribune.com website'', 01 July 1994. Assessed 31 March 2018.

Holography

While working with Hans Bjelkhagen, Jeong invented the technology that made true-color holograms possible. Jeong is also credited with the invention of cylindrical holograms, which was a major advancement in holography allowing the creation of images people could walk around and view from all perspectives. Jeong would later help in the invention and development of the technology used to create three-dimensional moving holograms and is credited with being the first to use optic fibers in his holograms, making them simpler and more cost effective.

Death

On 4 May 2015, Jeong passed away in Tallahassee, Florida after a long battle with prostate cancer, survived by his wife of 53 years Anna, his children Allan and Alec Alicia, and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Introduction to Holography film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeong, Tung 1931 births 2015 deaths Amarillo High School alumni American physicists Holography Lake Forest College faculty University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni Yale University alumni