Zhao Yufen (; born 1948) is a Chinese chemist at the college of chemistry and chemical engineering at

Xiamen University Xiamen University (XMU; ) is a public university in Siming, Xiamen, Siming, Xiamen, Fujian, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Pro ...

. She has been an outspoken critic of chemical plants. She was the youngest female member elected to 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 ...

Biography

Zhao was born in

Qi County, Hebi Qi County or Qixian () is a county in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the Hebi city. Qi County is the location of Zhaoge, the former capital of the Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

, and moved to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1949 with her parents. Zhao graduated from

National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) is a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, president Mei Yiqi and other academics relocated with the retreating Nationalist government to ...

(Taiwan) in 1971, and received her Ph.D from

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1975. In 1979, she went on to become a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She became a professor 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 ...

(Beijing) in 1988 and in 1991, was elected to the

, then the youngest female academician. In March 2007, Zhao created a petition to halt the construction of a chemical plant in

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

. Zhao was against the plant, which was going to produce

paraxylene ''p''-Xylene ( ''para''-xylene) is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is one of the three isomers of dimethylbenzene known collectively as xylenes. The ''p-'' stands for ''para-'', indicating that the two methyl groups in ''p''-xylene occupy the diamet ...

(PX), a

carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

, due to health risks and pollution of the environment. She said that "As a project with a high risk of poisonous emissions and explosions, the project should not be located close to a city." She also started writing letters to propose a relocation of the plant to He Lefeng, the Party chief of Xiamen. Months later, protesters used text messages to spread the word of a demonstration against the plant. Xiamen lawmakers voted overwhelmingly against the plant, which was located to Gulei Peninsula. June 15, 2014, Zhao, as the head of the Academy Zhao Yufen of Xiamen University, along with BIOasis, signed on for the construction of a Phosphorus & Marine Science Research Center to be built at the Shandong International Biotechnology Park. Zhao has work published in the ''

Journal of the American Chemical Society The ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' (also known as JACS) is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the ...

'', ''

Journal of Organic Chemistry ''The Journal of Organic Chemistry'', colloquially known as ''JOC'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for original contributions of fundamental research in all branches of theory and practice in organic and bioorganic chemistry. It is publ ...

'', ''

Angewandte Chemie ''Angewandte Chemie'' (, meaning "Applied Chemistry") is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Wiley-VCH on behalf of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker). Publishing formats include feature-length ...

'', '' Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry'', ''

Chemical Communications ''ChemComm'' (or ''Chemical Communications''), formerly known as ''Journal of the Chemical Society D: Chemical Communications'' (1969–1971), ''Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications'' (1972–1995), is a peer-reviewed scientific ...

'', ''Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis'', and other journals.

References

External links

Prof. Zhao Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Yufen 1948 births Living people 20th-century Chinese women scientists 21st-century Chinese women scientists Chemists from Henan Chinese women chemists Educators from Henan Environmental conservation Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences National Tsing Hua University alumni People from Hebi Stony Brook University alumni Taiwanese people from Henan Academic staff of Tsinghua University Academic staff of Xiamen University