Wang Chengshu

Chengshu was born on June 26, 1912. She graduated from Yenching University in 1934 where she received the highest grades. While teaching as an assistant lecturer from 1934 until 1937, From 1938 until 1939, Chengshu taught at Xiangya Medical College. While at Michigan she was a Barbour Scholar, a program designed to support students from Asia and the Middle East. == Career ==

Chengshu would remain in Michigan for the ten years following her Ph.D. She returned to China in 1956 where she worked at the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences while concurrently serving as a professor at Peking University. In 1958, she was transferred to the thermonuclear fusion Laboratory of the Institute of Atomic Energy to do theoretical work, and in 1959, she was assigned to the Soviet Atomic Energy Research Institute. From 1964 until 1978 she worked at the Third Research Institute of the Second Ministry of Machinery Industry. In 1978 she was named a professor at Qinghua University and she served as a researcher of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry until 1986. == Research ==

During her time in the United States, Chengshu mainly engaged in the study of kinetic theory of gas molecules. She was the first to calculate the eigenvalue for solving the Boltzmann equation, and developed the generalized Boltzmann equation for polyatomic gases, which resulted in it being called the Wang-Chang-Uhlenbeck ("WCU") equation. Upon returning to China in 1958 she began working on the theory of uranium isotope separation, and ultimately laid the foundation for the research of controlled nuclear fusion reactions In 1964 China launched its first atomic bomb, and Chengshu was hailed by Mao Zedong as a female hero due to her role in this test. == Personal life ==

She married the physicist Zhang Wenyu in 1939. == Death ==

Chengshu died on June 18, 1994. == Selected publications ==

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Chengshu was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980. == References ==