Bai Yilong (; 22 December 1940 – 9 May 2024) was a Chinese mechanist and an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

. He was a member of the 10th and 11th National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

Biography

Bai was born in Xiangyun County,

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, on 22 December 1940, while his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

is in Zhenhai County,

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. His father Bai Rubi () was a graduate of the Department of Civil Engineering, Beiyang University and once worked on the construction of the Yunnan–Burma railway in

. His mother Cang Chuanxian () graduated from Zhili Women's First Normal School. He had three older sisters. In 1958, he enrolled at the

University of Science and Technology of China The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is a public university in Hefei, China. It is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and co-funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education of the People' ...

, where he majored in the Department of Modern Mechanics. He went to receive his master's degree from the Institute of Mechanics,

in 1966. After graduation in 1966, Bai stayed at the Institute of Mechanics as an intern researcher. He moved up the ranks to become assistant researcher in 1979, associate researcher in 1982, and researcher in 1986. He was a visiting scholar at the

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1979 to 1981. In 1987, he was appointed deputy director of the Institute of Mechanics, and held that office until 1994. In 1998, he was proposed as president of the , a position he held until 2002. On 9 May 2024, Bai died in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, at the age of 83.

Honours and awards

* 1991 Member of the

(CAS) * 1992 State Natural Science Award (First Class) * 1993 State Natural Science Award (Second Class) * 1999 Science and Technology Progress Award of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation * 1999 * 2002 Member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

* 2007 John Rinehart Award * 2010 Mathematical Science Award of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Yilong 1940 births 2024 deaths People from Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Scientists from Yunnan University of Science and Technology of China alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Europaea 20th-century Chinese physicists 21st-century Chinese physicists Members of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference