Gao Bolong (; 1928–2017) was a pioneering Chinese laser physicist. Gao was born in Nanning, Guangxi. Following his father, he lived in several cities in his childhood. When the Japanese invaded Guangxi in 1944, Gao joined the Nationalist Army. He returned to school after the end of the WWII. In 1951, he graduated in physics from

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

. Gao hoped to engage in basic research, but was assigned to then Institute of Applied Physics of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. He was transferred to Harbin Institute of Military Engineering in 1954, and then to Changsha in 1970. Gao was appointed the leader of a scientific team to develop the domestic ring laser gyroscope there. The final prototype was built in 1994. He also improved the coating technology. He became a professor in 1978, and was elected an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

in 1997. During the

Anti-Rightist Campaign The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was ...

, Gao was denounced for "lacking progressive political consciousness" in 1958 and banished to the countryside, where he developed asthma. When the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

began, he was denounced again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Bolong 1928 births 2017 deaths Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physicists from Guangxi Tsinghua University alumni People from Nanning