Li Yinyuan (; 22 June 1919 – 22 August 2016) was a Chinese electrical engineer and physicist. He was an academician 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 Republ ...

(CAS).

Biography

Li was recommended to

Sichuan University Sichuan University (SCU) is a National university, national National Key Universities, key public university, public research university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The university is wholly funded by Ministry of Education of the People's Republic ...

in 1938 and transferred to

National Southwestern Associated University When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Universi ...

in 1941. He became a teaching assistant in National Southwestern Associated University after his graduation. He moved to

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

by government study abroad scholarship in 1947 and earned his master's degree in 1948. Li then obtained a doctor's degree from

Illinois State Normal University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 1951. He was forbidden to leave the United States due to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He made research at

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

between 1952 and 1955, and worked for

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

in 1955. Li returned to China in 1956 after his travel ban was lifted. He was assigned to Institute of Applied Physics,

. Li's main research field was

solid-state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the l ...

and

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...

, especially in the theoretical interpretation of statistical theory of order–disorder phase transition for alloys and anti-

ferromagnets Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) which results in a large observed magnetic permeability, and in many cases a large magnetic coercivity allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials a ...

, the magnetic structure and superconchange theory of

transition element In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. They are the elements that can ...

Raman scattering Raman scattering or the Raman effect () is the inelastic scattering of photons by matter, meaning that there is both an exchange of energy and a change in the light's direction. Typically this effect involves vibrational energy being gained by a ...

effect of double frequency radiation in the nonlinear optics with mismatched phase angle and quasi–one–dimensional conductivity of non-linear optic crystal

lithium iodate Lithium iodate (LiIO3) is a negative uniaxial crystal for nonlinear, acousto-optical and piezoelectric applications. It has been utilized for 347 nm ruby lasers. Properties Mohs hardness of lithium iodate is 3.5–4. Its linear thermal expan ...

–α. Li was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980. Li died on 22 August 2016 at the age of 97 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Yinyuan 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Chinese engineers 20th-century Chinese physicists Chinese electrical engineers Chinese expatriates in the United States Educators from Sichuan Illinois State University alumni Magneticians Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Members of the Jiusan Society National Southwestern Associated University alumni People from Chengdu People of the Republic of China Physicists from Sichuan Washington State University alumni