Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee, who in 1957 became the second-youngest scientist to receive a Nobel Prize, died Sunday at his home in San Francisco at age 97, according to a Chinese university and a research center.
Lee, whose work advanced the understanding of particle physics, was one of the great masters in the field, according to a joint obituary released Monday by the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Beijing-based China Center for Advanced Science and Technology.
Lee, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 1962, was also a professor emeritus at Columbia University in New York.
Photo: grab from Nobel Web
Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, once praised Lee as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists of the time, whose work showed “remarkable freshness, versatility and style.”
Lee was born in Shanghai on Nov. 24, 1926, the third of six children to a merchant father, Tsing-Kong Lee, and a mother, Ming-Chang Chang, who was a devout Catholic, according to local newspaper Wenhui Daily.
He went to high school in Shanghai and attended National Chekiang University in Guizhou province and National Southwest Associated University in Kunming in Yunnan province.
After his sophomore year, he received a scholarship from the Chinese government to attend graduate school in the United States.
Between 1946 and 1950, he studied at the University of Chicago under Enrico Fermi, a Nobel laureate in physics.
In the early 1950s, Lee worked at the Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, at the University of California at Berkeley and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
His research in elementary particles, statistical mechanics, astrophysics and field theory, among others, was standing out.
In 1953, he joined Columbia University as an assistant professor. Three years later, at age 29, he became the youngest-ever full professor there. He developed a model for studying various quantum phenomena known as the “Lee model.”
In 1957, Lee was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics together with Chen-Ning Yang for work exploring the symmetry of subatomic particles as they interact with the force that holds atoms together. At 31, Lee was the second-youngest scientist to receive the distinction.
He won many other accolades including the Albert Einstein Award in Science, the Galileo Galilei Medal and the G. Bude Medal, as well as honorary doctorates and titles from organizations around the world.
As China became more open to international exchanges in the 1970s, Lee returned to his home country on repeated visits to give lectures and encourage the development of sciences, according to state media.
On Monday, the topic of his death was trending on social media platform Weibo. Some users remarked on Lee’s American citizenship, while others honored his Chinese roots. China does not recognize dual citizenship.
One Weibo user praised Lee for helping to advance Chinese education and providing a role model for younger generations.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS