On July 13, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences released an obituary: Outstanding Member of the Communist Party of China, Outstanding Member of the China Democratic League, Former Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Director of the Second and Third Sessions of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Former Director of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Famous Physical Chemist, Founder and Pioneer of the Field of High-energy Chemical Lasers in the Mainland, One of the Founders of the Discipline of Molecular Reaction Kinetics, Winner of the National Highest Science and Technology Award, Senior Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Comrade Zhang Cunhao, Due to ineffective medical treatment, he passed away at 13:08 on July 12, 2024 in Beijing at the age of 96.
In 2013, Zhang Cunhao in the office of the chemical laser laboratory (data map)
Give up staying in the United States to serve the motherland
Zhang Cunhao was born in Wudi, Shandong Province, in 1928 in a scholarly family in Tianjin. Zhang Cunhao's uncle, Fu Ying, was a well-known physical chemist at home and abroad, the earliest member of the academic department in New China, and the former vice president of Peking University. At the age of 23, her aunt Zhang Jin received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois in the United States, which was one of the few female doctors in the field of organic chemistry in China at that time, and later taught at Peking University.
When he was young, Zhang Cunhao traveled with his uncle and aunt to Chongqing and Fujian, accompanied by the roar of artillery fire and explosions. In 1943, 15-year-old Zhang Cunhao was admitted to the Department of Chemistry of Xiamen University, and the following year he was transferred to the Department of Chemical Engineering of Chongqing Central University; From 1947 to 1948, he studied as a graduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin.
In 1948, 20-year-old Zhang Cunhao went to the United States to study. In August 1950, when Zhang Cunhao had just received a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, the Korean War began. When the country needed it most, Zhang Cunhao resolutely returned to the motherland, where the conditions were still very difficult, and came to the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he officially began his scientific research life to serve the motherland.
Zhang Cunhao firmly and calmly believed: "Since my youth, the greatest ideal of scientific research life I have set for myself is to serve the country. The needs of the country are the direction of my research. ”
In 1987, Zhang Cunhao gave an academic report at the National Conference on Quantum Chemistry (data map)
It is necessary to change careers several times for the country
In the early 50s of the 20th century, the mainland's oil supply was very short and faced a complete blockade by Western countries. In order to solve the urgent needs of the country, Zhang Cunhao, Lou Nanquan and others worked day and night to undertake research, and developed a high-efficiency nitriding molten iron catalyst for the synthesis of liquid fuels from water gas in a short period of time, and the "pilot test" was successful.
At the end of the 50s of the 20th century, forced by the tense international situation, Zhang Cunhao quickly turned into the almost completely new field of rocket propellant, and finally proposed the multi-layer flame theory of solid propellant combustion rate with Academician He Guozhong and others.
Under difficult conditions, Zhang Cunhao, together with a large number of young and middle-aged scientists, rose to the challenge and set out to develop a supersonic combustion hydrogen fluoride (deuterium) laser. At that time, foreign hydrogen fluoride (deuterium) lasers were also in their infancy, but what was published in the relevant literature was a plasma heating system with no practical value. Zhang Cunhao decided not to follow the path of foreign countries and independently choose the combustion system. In 1973, the output power of hydrogen fluoride (deuterium) laser was reduced from zero to several watts, and two years later, the output power increased by several orders of magnitude, and the overall performance index reached the world's advanced level at that time.
Zhang Cunhao, Zhuang Qi and others developed the first discharge-induced pulsed oxygen iodine chemical laser in the world, which is in the leading position in the world in terms of efficiency and performance, and developed the first continuous wave oxygen iodine chemical laser in mainland China in 1992. He led the team to pioneer the "ion depression spectroscopy" method to study the excited state of extremely short-lived molecules in the world, and used this method to determine the rotation spectra of the pre-dissociated state of ammonia molecules and their lifetimes for the first time.
On January 10, 2014, Zhang Cunhao and Cheng Kaijia, winners of the 2013 National Highest Science and Technology Award, took a group photo in the Great Hall of the People after the award ceremony (data map)
Always give credit to others for the honor
Whether it is publishing articles or awards, Zhang Cunhao has always taken care of young people. There is a saying in the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics that no matter whether Zhang Cunhao is the leader of the research group, the director of the department, or the director of the institute, many of the scientific theories and ideas he put forward always give the greatest credit to the students, subordinates, and collaborators who actually operate them when they achieve results and receive various major awards.
From 1991 to 1999, Zhang Cunhao served as the director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. During this period, the total funding of the Natural Science Foundation has increased by nearly 8 times, and it has established cooperative relations with the scientific and technological communities of 35 countries and regions, added the Faculty of Management Science, and added 13 new funding categories. He wrote to the national leaders twice, and finally applied for the establishment of the "National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars". When it comes to this achievement, he gives all the credit to others.
In 2002, Zhang Cunhao donated all the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize and the honorarium he received from lecturing in Hong Kong and other places to the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics to set up a scholarship to encourage more young scholars to study hard, dedicate themselves to scientific research, and serve the motherland. A total of 8 achievements of the team led by him have won national science and technology awards, and 3 achievements have been selected as "China's Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News".
In 2013, when the honor of the country's highest science and technology award was awarded to him, this old man, who had experienced the ups and downs of life and gradually aged in the process of China's development, said modestly and sincerely: "I don't think this award should be awarded to me, but to our collective, without them, I can't do anything." ”
When Zhang Cunhao won the highest national science and technology award, many media reported his deeds, calling him "the father of China's chemical laser".
Academician of the Beloved Classical Music
According to a previous report by "Love China", speaking of Zhang Cunhao in life, Chi Yunxia, his wife who has been with him for decades, once "complained": "His physique is not very good." When he was older, he always thought about scientific research in his head, and when young people came to him, he was very enthusiastic, discussing problems and revising papers together. Zhang Cunhao in life is not picky, he is at peace with what he encounters, he often tells his wife not to "worry" about food, "I will eat what you do".
Zhang's two sons have made achievements in their respective research fields. In the eyes of children, Zhang Cunhao also loves classical music, "can sing thousands of songs", and also has an antique gramophone and many classical music records, and often improvises for friends who visit him. For different composers, bands, and conductors, Zhang Cunhao has a lot of treasures, and he has persisted in the habit of listening to classical music all his life.
Zhang Cunhao (Source: Official website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" Memorial Hall)
The obituary released by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also said: Mr. Zhang Cunhao wrote a wonderful life with his life, dedicated his whole life to the scientific and technological cause of the motherland, and set a glorious example for future generations. His outstanding contributions and noble character have been widely praised and admired by scientists at home and abroad. His death is a great loss to the mainland's scientific and technological community! We mourn and deeply cherish the memory of Mr. Zhang Cunhao!
The farewell ceremony for Mr. Zhang Cunhao's body is scheduled to be held at 9 a.m. on July 16, 2024 at the East Auditorium of Babaoshan Funeral Home.
Jimu News integrates the official website of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, People's Daily Overseas Edition, and "Love for China"
(Source: Jimu News)
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