Shu-tian Li
Encyclopedia
Shu-tian Li (1900 – 1988) was a citizen of the United States, a Chinese American
educator and engineer. His brother, Shu-hua Li or Li Shu-hua
was a physicist and a former Secretary of Education in China
, and contributed to the founding of UNESCO
. Dr. Shu-tian Li was the maternal grandfather of Steven Chu
, the Nobel Prize
winner in physics and the United States Secretary of Energy in the Barack Obama
Administration and Morgan Chu
, an intellectual property lawyer. After receiving a Ph.D. degree in engineering/economics from Cornell University
in 1926, Dr. Shu-tian Li returned to China to assume a professorship at the Peiyang University. He became the executive officer of Northern China Hydraulic Commission in 1928. He was a founder of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society and served as its deputy president and then president for six terms. Later he was appointed to lead the Yellow River Commission.
At the age of 28, Dr. Shu-tian Li was chosen as the president of Tangshan College of Engineering and became the youngest college administrator in China. In 1932, he was named the President of the Peiyang Engineering College. He was the longest serving president in Peiyang's first 56 years of history. Under his leadership, Peiyang established one of the first graduate engineering programs and the first hydraulic engineering laboratory in China. Between 1937 and 1949, he led the establishment of several national colleges and universities in western and southwestern China (e.g. and ). During his leadership at the Si-kang Institute of Technology, the Panzhihua Mine, one of the largest iron (and rare metal) deposits in the world, was discovered. In recognition of his contribution to hydraulic engineering and to China during World War II
, Dr. Li was awarded a First Order Hydraulic Gold Medal and an Order of Victory of Resistance Against Aggression, respectively, from the Chinese government after the war. He was elected to the National Peking Academy of Sciences in 1948. He published many research papers and books on the management and improvement of the nation's water resources, Yellow River basin and northern China harbor. Among these publications, "The Chinese Hydraulic Issues" , the first comprehensive review and scientific recommendation regarding Chinese water resources, established him as the leading hydraulic engineering authority in China in the 1940s.
Dr. Shu-tian Li returned to the United States in 1950 to start private engineering practice and academic teaching/research. The Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) awarded Dr. Li the CIE annual award in 1963 for his work on the Unified Energy-Matrix Analysis. For his contribution to concrete engineering, he received the highest award from the American Concrete Institute in 1985. He also served on a US congressional advisory board. He was accredited with establishing the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of America. He published 17 books and more than 800 research papers during his lifetime. Dr. Li passed away at the age of 88.
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
educator and engineer. His brother, Shu-hua Li or Li Shu-hua
Li Shu-hua
Li Shu-hua was a Chinese physical scientist from Peking University and educator came from Qinhuangdao, Hebei.He worked at Academia Sinica and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China....
was a physicist and a former Secretary of Education in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and contributed to the founding of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. Dr. Shu-tian Li was the maternal grandfather of Steven Chu
Steven Chu
Steven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
, the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner in physics and the United States Secretary of Energy in the Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
Administration and Morgan Chu
Morgan Chu
Morgan Chu , an intellectual property attorney, is one of the first Asian Americans to lead a major U.S. law firm. Chu's professional accolades recognize him as one of the nation’s most influential lawyers and most successful trial attorneys.A high school dropout, Chu went on to earn advanced...
, an intellectual property lawyer. After receiving a Ph.D. degree in engineering/economics from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1926, Dr. Shu-tian Li returned to China to assume a professorship at the Peiyang University. He became the executive officer of Northern China Hydraulic Commission in 1928. He was a founder of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society and served as its deputy president and then president for six terms. Later he was appointed to lead the Yellow River Commission.
At the age of 28, Dr. Shu-tian Li was chosen as the president of Tangshan College of Engineering and became the youngest college administrator in China. In 1932, he was named the President of the Peiyang Engineering College. He was the longest serving president in Peiyang's first 56 years of history. Under his leadership, Peiyang established one of the first graduate engineering programs and the first hydraulic engineering laboratory in China. Between 1937 and 1949, he led the establishment of several national colleges and universities in western and southwestern China (e.g. and ). During his leadership at the Si-kang Institute of Technology, the Panzhihua Mine, one of the largest iron (and rare metal) deposits in the world, was discovered. In recognition of his contribution to hydraulic engineering and to China during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dr. Li was awarded a First Order Hydraulic Gold Medal and an Order of Victory of Resistance Against Aggression, respectively, from the Chinese government after the war. He was elected to the National Peking Academy of Sciences in 1948. He published many research papers and books on the management and improvement of the nation's water resources, Yellow River basin and northern China harbor. Among these publications, "The Chinese Hydraulic Issues" , the first comprehensive review and scientific recommendation regarding Chinese water resources, established him as the leading hydraulic engineering authority in China in the 1940s.
Dr. Shu-tian Li returned to the United States in 1950 to start private engineering practice and academic teaching/research. The Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) awarded Dr. Li the CIE annual award in 1963 for his work on the Unified Energy-Matrix Analysis. For his contribution to concrete engineering, he received the highest award from the American Concrete Institute in 1985. He also served on a US congressional advisory board. He was accredited with establishing the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of America. He published 17 books and more than 800 research papers during his lifetime. Dr. Li passed away at the age of 88.