M. T. Cheng or Cheng Minde (; 24 January 1917 – 26 November 1998) was a Chinese

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. He was the main founder of

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 ...

Mathematical Research Institute, and longtime head of the Department of Mathematics of Peking University.

Biography

Cheng was born 24 January 1917 in

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 ...

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. His father Cheng Zhanlu () was a notable novelist. In 1935, Cheng became a student of the Department of

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

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 ...

. Due to Su Buqing's advice, he later transferred into the Department of Mathematics. He graduated BS and MS (in autumn 1942). From 1942 to 1943, Cheng took his

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

as an electrical engineer in a factory in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, the war-time capital of China during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

. From 1943 to 1946, Cheng was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the Department of Mathematics of Zhejiang University. From 1946 to 1947, he lectured at the mathematical department of Peking University. In 1947, Cheng went to the US to continue his study at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

advisor was Salomon Bochner. Cheng earned his PhD in 1949, and did his

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

at Princeton till Jan 1950. Cheng went back to China. From Jan 1951 to 1952, he was an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

and later professor at the Department of Mathematics of

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 ...

. Since 1952, he was a professor at the Department of Mathematics of Peking University. From 1978 to 1988, he was the Director of the Mathematical Research Institute of Peking University. Cheng was elected into

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 ...

as an academician in 1980. From 1982 to 1988, he was the President of Beijing Mathematical Society. From 1983 to 1988, he was a

Vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of Chinese Mathematical Society. Cheng was a pioneer of

harmonic analysis Harmonic analysis is a branch of mathematics concerned with investigating the connections between a function and its representation in frequency. The frequency representation is found by using the Fourier transform for functions on unbounded do ...

and

image processing An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a pr ...

and recognition in modern China. The famous digital innovator Wang Xuan was also one of his students. Cheng died on 26 November 1998 in Beijing.

Memory

* ''A Great Tree: Memorial Collections of Cheng Minde'' (Chinese: 一棵挺拔的大树：程民德先生纪念文集); Peking University Press; 1 November 2000; .

References

External links

Biography of Cheng Minde, from the Holeung Ho Lee Foundation
(English, including photo)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, M. T. 1917 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Chinese mathematicians Educators from Suzhou Engineers from Jiangsu Mathematicians from Jiangsu Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Peking University Princeton University alumni Scientists from Suzhou Academic staff of Tsinghua University Zhejiang University alumni Academic staff of Zhejiang University Chinese expatriates in the United States