Feng Duan (; 11 June 1923 – 15 December 2020) was a physicist of China, an expert in solid-state physics. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was a delegate to the 6th,

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

and

8th National People's Congress The 8th National People's Congress () was in session from 1993 to 1998. It succeeded the 7th National People's Congress. It held five sessions in this period. Election results Elected state leaders In the 1st Session in 1993, the Congress elected ...

Etymology

Because he was born before the Dragon Boat Festival (), so his father named him "Duan".

Biography

Feng was born in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, though his ancestral hometown is Shaoxing,

Zhejiang 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 Jiang ...

. His father Feng Zupei () was an official in the Nationalist government. Feng has two elder brothers. All of them were alumni of National Central University. The eldest, Feng Huan went to United States in 1947, and served in GE R&D center as a senior engineer. His second elder brother,

Feng Kang Feng Kang (; September 9, 1920 – August 17, 1993) was a Chinese mathematician. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980. After his death, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Feng Kang Prize in 1994 t ...

, was a prominent Chinese mathematician, and also a member of CAS. His elder sister Feng Hui () was a researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His brother-in-law

Ye Duzheng Ye Duzheng (; 21 February 1916 – 16 October 2013) was a Chinese meteorologist and academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Born in Anqing, Anhui province in 1916, Ye is considered the founder of Chinese atmospheric physics, and was awar ...

was a meteorologist and a member of CAS. In 1942, after graduating from Suzhou High School, Feng entered National Central University (renamed

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...

after 1949), studying physics. He graduated in 1946 and stayed at the University, serving as a teaching assistant in physics department. Later, he became a lecturer, an associate professor, and eventually attained the title of professor. Feng was the president of graduate school of Nanjing University, and the director of state key laboratory of solid-state micro-structure physics. He used to serve as president of China Physics Society, first scientist of "Nano Material Science", a "climbing project" of National Commission of Science and Technology, and the chairman of

Science and Technology Association. Feng was elected to member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1980. Feng was the chairman of alumni association of National Central University. Feng died on December 15, 2020, in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, aged 97.

Personal life

Feng married Chen Lianfang () in Nanjing on April 1, 1955. Chen was a high school Chinese teacher and graduated from department of foreign language of National Central University in 1945.

Honours and awards

* 1980 Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) * 1993 member of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

(TWAS)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feng, Duan 1923 births 2020 deaths Physicists from Jiangsu Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Nanjing University Scientists from Suzhou Educators from Suzhou Delegates to the 6th National People's Congress Delegates to the 7th National People's Congress Delegates to the 8th National People's Congress