Cheng was born in
Wujiang,
Jiangsu in 1918. He graduated from the Department of Physics of
Zhejiang University in 1941. In 1946, he went to the
United Kingdom to study at the
University of Edinburgh, obtaining a
PhD in 1948 under advisor
Max Born. In 1999, he was awarded "Two Bombs and One Satellite Meritorious Award" by President
Jiang Zemin for his contribution on atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb. In July 2017,
Chairman Xi Jinping awarded Cheng the
Order of August First, the highest military award of People's Republic of China. He died on 17 November 2018, three months after his
100th birthday. ==See also==