Citizenship China Doctoral advisor C.H. Mathewson | Nationality Chinese | |
Born 28 April 1923
Cili, Hunan, China ( 1923-04-28 ) Fields Metal physics
Detonation physics Notable awards Two Bombs and One Satellite Meritorious Award (1999) Died 27 May 2016, Beijing, China Alma maters Southwest Jiaotong University, Yale University | ||
Chen Nengkuan (Chinese: 陈能宽; pinyin: Chén Néngkuān; 28 April 1923 – 27 May 2016) was a Chinese metal physics and detonation physics expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He was known as one of the founding fathers of Two Bombs, One Satellite (Chinese: 两弹一星元勋).
Biography
Chen was born in Cili County, Hunan. He obtained a bachelor's degree from National Tangshan Engineering College (now Southwest Jiaotong University) in 1946 and then obtained his doctor's degree in metallurgy from Yale University in the United States. He worked for Johns Hopkins University and Westinghouse Electric as a researcher after his graduation. He returned to China in 1955 after the Korean War ended and was assigned work at Institute of Applied Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was one of the key contributors to the Chinese nuclear weapon programs. Chen was elected as academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980. In 1999, he was awarded "Two Bombs and One Satellite Meritorious Award" for his contribution on atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb.
Chen died on 27 May 2016 at the age of 93 in Beijing.