Yuan-Cheng "Bert" Fung (September 15, 1919 – December 15, 2019) was a Chinese-American bioengineer and writer. He is regarded as a founding figure of

bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

tissue engineering Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of Cell (biology), cells, engineering, Materials science, materials methods, and suitable biochemistry, biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintai ...

, and the "Founder of Modern

Biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...

Biography

Fung was born in

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

Province, China in 1919. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1941 and a master's degree in 1943 from the

National Central University National Central University (NCU, ; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kwet-li̍p Chung-yong Thài-ho̍k'', Wade–Giles: ''Kuo2 Li4 Chung Yang Ta4 Hsüeh2'' or ''中大'', ''Chung-ta'') is a public research university with long-standing traditions based in Taiw ...

(later renamed

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xian ...

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

and reinstated in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

), and earned a Ph.D. from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1948. Fung was Professor Emeritus and Research Engineer at the

University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. He published prominent texts along with Pin Tong who was then at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Fung died at the Jacobs Medical Center in San Diego, California, aged 100, on December 15, 2019.

Research

He is the author of numerous books including Foundations of Solid Mechanics, Continuum Mechanics, and a series of books on Biomechanics. He is also one of the principal founders of the ''Journal of Biomechanics'' and was a past chair of the

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

International Applied Mechanics Division. In 1972, Fung established the Biomechanics Symposium under the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This biannual summer meeting, first held at the Georgia Institute of Technology, became the annual Summer Bioengineering Conference. Fung and colleagues were also the first to recognize the importance of residual stress on arterial mechanical behavior.

Fung's Law

Fung's famous exponential strain

constitutive equation In physics and engineering, a constitutive equation or constitutive relation is a relation between two physical quantities (especially kinetic quantities as related to kinematic quantities) that is specific to a material or substance, and ap ...

for preconditioned

soft tissues Soft tissue is all the tissue in the body that is not hardened by the processes of ossification or calcification such as bones and teeth. Soft tissue connects, surrounds or supports internal organs and bones, and includes muscle, tendons, liga ...

is :

w = \frac\left + c\left( e^Q -1 \right) \right /math>
with
: q=a_E_E_ \qquad Q=b_E_E_quadratic forms of Green-Lagrange strains E_and a_, b_and c material constants. w is a

strain energy In physics, the elastic potential energy gained by a wire during elongation with a tensile (stretching) force is called strain energy. For linearly elastic materials, strain energy is: : U = \frac 1 2 V \sigma \epsilon = \frac 1 2 V E \epsilon ...

function per volume unit, which is the mechanical strain energy for a given temperature. Materials that follow this law are known as Fung-elastic.

Honors and awards

* Theodore von Karman Medal, 1976 *

Otto Laporte Award The Otto Laporte Award (1972–2003) was an annual award by the American Physical Society (APS) to "recognize outstanding contributions to fluid dynamics" and to honour Otto Laporte (1902–1971). It was established as the Otto Laporte Memorial ...

, 1977 * Worcester Reed Warner Medal, 1984 * Jean-Leonard-Marie Poiseuille Award, 1986 *

Timoshenko Medal The Timoshenko Medal is an award given annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to an individual "in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics." The Timoshenko Medal, widely regarded as the ...

, 1991 * Lissner Award for Bioengineering, from ASME * Borelli Medal, from ASB * Landis Award, from Microcirculation Society * Alza Award, from BMES * Melville Medal, 1994 * United States National Academy of Engineering Founders Award (NAE Founders Award), 1998 *

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

, 2000 * Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, 2007 ("for the characterization and modeling of human tissue mechanics and function leading to prevention and mitigation of trauma.") * Revelle Medal, from UC San Diego, 2016UCSD Chancellor's Announcement of 2016 Revelle Medalists
/ref> Fung was elected to the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the N ...

(1993), the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

(1979), the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Eng ...

(1991), the

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging fro ...

(1968), and was a Foreign Member 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 ...

(1994 election).

References

External links

* Classical and Computational Solid Mechanic
Profile at UCSD
*Y.C. Fung

Acceptance Speech for the Timoshenko Medal.
YC Fung Young Investigator Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fung, Yuan-Cheng 1919 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American biologists 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American biologists 21st-century American engineers American bioengineers American centenarians American science writers American writers of Chinese descent Biologists from Jiangsu Biomechanics Beijing No. 4 High School alumni Chongqing Nankai Secondary School alumni California Institute of Technology alumni California Institute of Technology faculty Chinese emigrants to the United States Educators from Changzhou Engineers from Jiangsu Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Sinica Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Men centenarians National Medal of Science laureates Nanjing University alumni National Central University alumni Scientists from California Scientists from Changzhou Tissue engineering University of California, San Diego faculty Writers from Changzhou Members of the National Academy of Medicine