Su-Shu Huang (, April 16, 1915 – September 15, 1977) was a Chinese-born American astrophysicist. A graduate of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, Huang began his career with the study of the continuous absorption coefficients of two-

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

systems, but eventually his research focus turned to the study of

stellar atmosphere The stellar atmosphere is the outer region of the volume of a star, lying above the stellar core, radiation zone and convection zone. Overview The stellar atmosphere is divided into several regions of distinct character: * The photosphere, whi ...

radiative transfer Radiative transfer (also called radiation transport) is the physical phenomenon of energy transfer in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The propagation of radiation through a medium is affected by absorption, emission, and scattering process ...

, and binary and

multiple star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. It may sometimes be used to refer to a single star. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a ''st ...

s. In subsequent years, Huang began to cover the topic of life on

extrasolar planet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detect ...

s and the prerequisites thereof, coining the term "

habitable zone In astronomy and astrobiology, the habitable zone (HZ), or more precisely the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressu ...

" to refer to the region around a star where planets could support liquid water at their surfaces at a 1959 conference of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Education and career

A native of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Huang earned his master's degree at Tsing Hua University, lecturing in astronomy at that institution from 1943 to 1947 before immigrating to the United States, earning a doctorate in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949. After teaching astronomy at that institution for the two following years, Huang became an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, a position he stayed in before moving to the Goddard Space Flight Center in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 1959. Concurrent with his Goddard position, Huang was a member of

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

at Princeton from 1960 to 1961, then a professor of astrophysics at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

from 1963 to 1964. In 1964, Huang became professor of physics and astronomy at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, though he stayed at Goddard until 1965. In his early years he studied two-electron systems, Huang later studied stellar atmospheres, radiative zones, and the dynamics of stars in binary or multiple star systems. Huang's research into the physics of stars later led him to delineate the types of stars that could support

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

, leading to his coining of the term "habitable zone" and eventually his study of

planetary habitability Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to Abiogenesis, develop and sustain an environment hospitable to life. Life may be abiogenesis, generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously. Res ...

in a 1960 paper on the sizes of habitable planets. Huang's explorations into extraterrestrial life were also published in popular works, such as ''

American Scientist ''American Scientist'' (informally abbreviated ''AmSci'') is an American bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. In the beginning of 2000s the headquarters was moved to ...

'' and ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

''.

Later life and legacy

Late in his life, Huang made two trips to China, in 1974 and 1977. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Beijing during the latter trip, on September 15. Two years after his death, the then newly discovered main-belt asteroid 3014 Huangsushu was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Su-Shu 1915 births 1977 deaths American astrophysicists Academic staff of Tsinghua University University of Chicago faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Catholic University of America School of Arts and Sciences faculty Northwestern University faculty University of Chicago alumni Zhejiang University alumni People from Changshu