He Xiantu (; born September 28, 1937), also romanized as Xian-Tu He, is a Chinese nuclear and

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...

. He is the chief scientist of many Chinese national nuclear research and development programs. He designed the first

neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

in China.

Career

Born in Zhenhai,

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

, Zhejiang Province, he studied mathematics and physics, and graduated from the Department of Physics,

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 n ...

in 1962. He served for a long time in the physical institutes of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Physics, and he is the former deputy director of the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics ( IAPCM),

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 ...

. He currently is the chief scientist of National

863 Program The 863 program () or State High-Tech Development Plan () was a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for th ...

Hi-Tech Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Project and the chief scientist of IAPCM. He also holds the professorship and the dean position of the College of Science,

. He became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1995's election. He is a member of the Expert Committee of Nonlinear Science, Major State Basic Research. He made great contributions to the development of nuclear weapons in China. He has been long working on

inertial confinement fusion Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a fusion energy process that initiates nuclear fusion reactions by compressing and heating targets filled with thermonuclear fuel. In modern machines, the targets are small spherical pellets about the size of ...

ICF model, nonequilibrium

statistical physics Statistical physics is a branch of physics that evolved from a foundation of statistical mechanics, which uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approxim ...

, and nonlinear

plasma physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...

Awards and honors

Asteroid 79286 Hexiantu was named in his honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018 (). In July 2019, he was awarded the

Edward Teller Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care for ...

Medal of the

American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities: ...

"for his outstanding leadership in the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) study and his significant contribution to target physics and high energy density physics".

References

External links

The Holeung Ho Lee Foundation

China Vitae - Biography of He Xiantu

{{DEFAULTSORT:He, Xiantu 1937 births Living people Chinese nuclear physicists Educators from Ningbo Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Physicists from Zhejiang Scientists from Ningbo Theoretical physicists Zhejiang University alumni Academic staff of Zhejiang University