Hu Ning (; 1916–1997) was a Chinese physicist and writer.

Biography

Hu was born in Suqian,

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China on 11 February 1916. From 1928 to 1934, Hu studied at the Zhenjiang High School () in

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

, and

Suzhou High School The Suzhou High School of Jiangsu Province () is a public high school in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. In 1035, the Northern Song politician and writer Fan Zhongyan founded the earliest predecessor of the current Suzhou High School, Suzhou Prefecture S ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

. In 1935, Hu studied at the physical department of

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, Zhejiang. From 1935 to 1937, Hu studied in the department of physics at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

in Beijing, where he graduated in 1938. After his graduation from Tsinghua, Hu became the

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

for his professor

Zhou Peiyuan Zhou Peiyuan (; August 28, 1902 – November 24, 1993) was a Chinese theoretical physicist and politician. He served as president of Peking University, and was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Born in Yixing, Jiangsu, Ch ...

in the department of physics. In 1940, Hu examed and won the

Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the United States, funded by the Boxer Indemnities. On May 25, 1908, the U.S. Congress Senate and House of Representatives passed the Joint ...

. In 1941, Hu went to study in the United States. Hu studied

fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasma (physics), plasmas) and the forces on them. Originally applied to water (hydromechanics), it found applications in a wide range of discipl ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. His doctoral advisor was

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( , May 11, 1881May 6, 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing ...

. Hu also studied

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

under

Paul Sophus Epstein Paul Sophus Epstein (; March 20, 1883 – February 8, 1966) was a Russian-American mathematical physicist. He was known for his contributions to fluid dynamics and to the development of quantum mechanics. Early life and studies Paul Eps ...

during this period. Hu obtained his PhD in 1943 from Caltech. From 1944 to 1945, Hu stayed at the

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 ...

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, and studied

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

and basic particles theories under

Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli ( ; ; 25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and a pioneer of quantum mechanics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the ...

. From 1946 to 1949, Hu visited Europe. He worked at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland between 1946 and 1948. During this time he also visited the

Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute () is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics, and biophysics. Overview The institute was foun ...

in Copenhagen. Hu went back to the United States, and from 1949 to 1950, Hu did research at the nuclear physics department of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, New York. In 1950, invited by the

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Ta-You Wu (at that time, Wu headed the Theoretical Physics Division of the Canadian National Research Council), Hu went to Canada, and did research and lectured there. In 1951, Hu accepted the invitation from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in Beijing, and went back to China. Hu was a long-time professor in the department of physics at Peking University. Since 1953, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Modern Physics () and the Institute of Nuclear Physics () 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 ...

. From 1956 to 1959, Hu was a researcher and group leader at the

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, ), in Dubna, Moscow Oblast (110 km north of Moscow), Russia, is an international research center for nuclear sciences, with 5,500 staff members including 1,200 researchers holding over 1,000 ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Since 1980, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics () of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Hu was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. Hu was appointed the first

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of Peking University Research Institute of Theoretical Physics (). Hu died in Beijing on 16 December 1997.

Publications

Hu wrote or edited some earliest textbooks of relativity and

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

in China, which are still in use: * 《電動力學》 (''Electrodynamics''); 1963 * 《场的量子理论》 (''Quantum Field Theory''); 1964 * 《廣義相對論和引力場理論》 (''General Relativity and Gravitation''); ; republished in 2000

References

External links

* ScienceNet.com News
著名理论物理学家胡宁先生铜像在北大落成
(The bronze statue of Prof. Hu Ning is completed in Peking University campus)
The biography of Hu Ning
from Hudong.com

by Guan Hong; /7301135394 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Ning 1916 births 1997 deaths Boxer Indemnity Scholarship recipients California Institute of Technology alumni Chinese nuclear physicists Educators from Suqian Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Peking University 20th-century Chinese science writers Physicists from Jiangsu Scientists from Suqian Theoretical physicists Tsinghua University alumni Academic staff of Tsinghua University Writers from Suqian Zhejiang University alumni Chinese expatriates in the United States Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies