Yang Guanghua or Guang-Hwa Yang (; 1923–2006), was a Chinese chemist and

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

. He was the President of China University of Petroleum, and a pioneer of China's oil industry.

Biography

Yang was born in Liuyang,

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

, on 10 April 1923. In 1945, he graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering of

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the na ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

. He was a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate school ...

in the same department. In 1948, Yang went to study in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and obtained his

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the ...

degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1951. Yang went back to China in May 1951. Yang was a professor at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

and

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 ...

. In 1953, Yang joined to found the Beijing Petroleum College (北京石油学院; predecessor of current China University of Petroleum). In 1956, Yang was a

visiting researcher In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at Moscow Petroleum Institute,

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In 1965, Yang was pointed Vice-president of Beijing Petroleum College. After 1969, Yang was Vice-president, later President of East China Petroleum College (). From 1988 to 1992, Yang was the President of China University of Petroleum (CUP), a national key university. Yang died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

on 11 November 2006 at age 83. Yang donated his books and academic collections to the library of CUP. In 1950s, Yang and Prof. Wu Chi () co-founded the first educational program of oil and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

engineering/

refining {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...

in China. Yang's son Yang Wei, a mechanical engineer, served as President of Zhejiang University.

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing State media, state-owned newspapers in Hong Kong, newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, after Wenhui Bao, its Shanghai edition was launched in 1938. Its h ...

从知青到院士杨卫引领浙大创一流
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Honors

Asteroid 10410 Yangguanghua, discovered by the

Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program The Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program (SCAP) was an astronomical survey to search for near-Earth objects. It was conducted during the 1990s, at the Xinglong Station in Xinglong County, Chengde, Hebei province, China and resulted in the disco ...

in 1997, is named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on 26 October 2018 ().

References

External links

Yang Guanghua's detailed biography from the China State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil

Pioneer of China's Oil Industry - Prof. YANG Guanghua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Guanghua 1923 births 2006 deaths Chemists from Hunan Academic staff of China University of Petroleum Chinese chemical engineers Educators from Hunan Engineers from Hunan Academic staff of Peking University People from Changsha Academic staff of Tsinghua University University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni Zhejiang University alumni