Zhou Guangzhao
{{Short description|Chinese physicist (1929–2024)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Zhou Guangzhao
| native_name = {{lang|zh-hans|周光召}}
| honorific_suffix = ForMemRS
| image = File:Zhou Guangzhao.jpeg
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|5|15}}
| birth_place = Changsha, Hunan, China
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|8|17|1929|5|15}}
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| alma_mater = Tsinghua University
Beijing University
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| occupation = Physicist
| years_active = 1957–2024
| organization = Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
China Academy of Engineering Physics
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
European Organization for Nuclear Research
US National Academy of Sciences
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| website = {{URL|https://royalsociety.org/people/guangzhao-zhou-12587/|royalsociety.org/guangzhao-zhou}}
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{{family name hatnote|Zhou|lang=Chinese}}
Zhou Guangzhao {{Post-nominals|list=ForMemRS}} ({{zh|s=周光召|p=Zhōu Guāngzhāo}}; May 15, 1929 – August 17, 2024) was a Chinese theoretical physicist who served as President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1987 to 1997.{{cite web |url=http://www.chinavitae.com/biography/Zhou_Guangzhao/full |title=Zhou Guangzhao|author= |date= |website=China Vitae |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|access-date= January 5, 2020}}
Early life and education
Zhou Guangzhao was born on May 15, 1929, in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. He was the 5th child of the civil engineer Zhou Fengjiu,{{cite web |url=http://www.qiushi.org/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=116&id=34 |title=One of a Hundred Thousand: ZHOU Guangzhao-The Story of a Scientific Hero |author= |date=|website=In the Spotlight|publisher=Qiu Shi Science & Technology Foundation|access-date= January 5, 2020 |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306135919/http://www.qiushi.org/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=116&id=34 |archive-date=2021-03-06}} and the younger brother of biochemist/geneticist Zhou Guangyu. He graduated from Tsinghua University in 1951, and then did graduate work in theoretical physics for three years at Beijing University. He stayed at Beijing Univ. on the faculty after completing his PhD. In 1957 he was sent to the USSR by the Chinese Atomic Energy Research Institute to work at the Dubna Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.
Professional career
Zhou returned to China in 1960, where he worked on the Chinese nuclear weapons program, ultimately becoming director of the Chinese Nuclear Weapons Research Institute, now the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP). He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and later became the Vice President (1984–1987) and President (1987–1997) of the CAS.
Zhou's theoretical work focuses on particle physics.
He first visited the US in 1979. In the 1980s he spent time as a visiting researcher at the University of California and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland.
Death
Zhou died on August 17, 2024, at the age of 95.{{cite news |title="两弹一星功勋奖章"获得者周光召逝世，享年95岁 |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_28446515 |access-date=18 August 2024 |publisher=The Paper |date=18 August 2024}}
Honors
The asteroid 3462 Zhouguangzhao is named after him.{{cite web |url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3462 |title=(3462) Zhouguangzhao = 1950 TL2 = 1977 SQ2 = 1977 TL6 = 1981 UA10 |author= |date=|website=International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center |publisher=The International Astronomical Union|access-date= January 5, 2020}}Minor Planet Circ. 26424
Zhou was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 1987.{{cite web |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/15484.html |title=Zhou Guangzhao|author= |date= |website=Member Directory |publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date= January 5, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.nasonline.org/site/Dir/1152186712?pg=vprof&mbr=1005998 US National Academy of Sciences entry]
- [http://www.chinavitae.com/biography_display.php?id=1195 entry at chinavitae.com]
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{{Succession box| before = Lu Jiaxi | title = President of Chinese Academy of Sciences | years = 1987–1997 | after = Lu Yongxiang}}
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{{6th State Council of China}}
{{NPCSC Vice-Chairpersons}}
{{Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal recipients}}
{{FRS 2012}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Guangzhao}}
Category:Chinese nuclear physicists
Category:Chongqing Nankai Secondary School alumni
Category:Tsinghua University alumni
Category:Peking University alumni
Category:Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Category:Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Category:Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society
Category:People from Ningxiang
Category:Physicists from Hunan
Category:Academic staff of the University of Science and Technology of China
Category:Vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress