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; ) 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 ...

(CAS).

Biography

Li was recommended to

Sichuan University Sichuan University (SCU) is a public university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The university is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. I ...

in 1938 and transferred to

National Southwestern Associated University The National Southwestern Associated University was a national public university from 1938 to 1946 based in Kunming, Yunnan, China. It was formed by the wartime incorporation of National Peking University, National Tsinghua University, and Nat ...

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

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

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 research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...

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

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He made research at

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

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 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...

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 solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state phy ...

and

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, ...

, 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) that results in a significant, observable magnetic permeability, and in many cases, a significant magnetic coercivity, allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagne ...

, 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. The lanthanide and actinide ...

Raman scattering In chemistry and physics, 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 vibrationa ...

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–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, 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 ...

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 Physicists from Sichuan Washington State University alumni