Du Qinghua (; April 14, 1919 – 2006), also known as Q.H. DU, was a Chinese physicist. He was a pioneer of aeronautic and astronautic material engineering in China. and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Life

On April 14, 1919, Du was born in Hangzhou,

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...

. in the 1930s, Du studied in Hangzhou Middle School. In 1936, he graduated from

Hangzhou High School Hangzhou High School (), or Hanggao, established in 1899, is one of the most famous high schools in Southern China. It was the earliest-founded public high school in Zhejiang Province. Its history dates back to Yangzheng College founded by Lin ...

. In 1937, Du studied at Zhejiang University. In 1940, he graduated from the Department of Mechanics, National Chiao Tung University (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University). In 1947, Du went to study in the United States. He entered

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and majored in solid state physics. In June 1948, Du obtained a master's degree of aeronautic engineering from Stanford. In September 1948, Du turned to Harvard University and studied

hydrodynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) and ...

under the academic advice of Richard von Mises. In June 1949, Du earned another master of aeronautics from Harvard. In September 1949, Du went back to Stanford and did research on aeronautic light structure with Stephen Timoshenko and Goodier. He received his doctorate in April 1951. In June 1951, Du went back to China and taught 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 ...

. In 1952, Du was transferred to Tsinghua University and became a teaching and research leader of mechanics. In 1958, Du was one of the founders of the Department of Engineering Mechanics of Tsinghua University. From 1983 to 1987, Du was also a part-time professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University,

Xi'an Jiao Tong University Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU, ) is a public research university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. As a member of Double First Class University Plan, C9 League, Project 985, and Project 211, it is a leading national university with special strengths i ...

, and Zhejiang University, and he was an honorary professor at

Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics The Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA, ), colloquially known as Nanhang (南航), is a public research university in Nanjing, China. One of the Seven Sons of National Defence, it is directly supervised by the Ministry of In ...

. Du was a founder of Chinese modern aeronautic and astronautic material engineering. He was also a founder of the teaching and research of mechanics and material engineering at Tsinghua University. In 1997, Du was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Works

Du wrote more than 130 papers and also several popular textbooks and handbooks, including:SuperStar Internet Digital Reader
Works by Du Qinghua
/ref> * ''Material Mechanics'' () * ''Theory for Elasticity'' () * ''Handbook for Engineering Mechanics'' ()

Family

Du's daughter Du Xian is a former news anchor of

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

and the wife of actor

Chen Daoming Chen Daoming (born 26 April 1955) is a Chinese actor who has starred in various genres of film and television series. Career Chen graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. His first notable role was "Puyi" (the last emperor of China) in the ...

References

External links

Obituary from Tsinghua University
(Chinese)

(Chinese website)
Du Qinghua's biography at Chinese Academy of Engineering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du, Qinghua 1919 births 2006 deaths Educators from Hangzhou Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Academic staff of Peking University People's Republic of China science writers Physicists from Zhejiang Scientists from Hangzhou Academic staff of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Stanford University alumni Academic staff of Tsinghua University Zhejiang University alumni Chinese expatriates in the United States