Li Zhengdao

Li Zhengdao

Li Zhengdao, born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province on November 24, 1926, is a professor of Columbia University. He is a Chinese American physicist and a Nobel Prize winner in physics. He is famous for his contributions in the fields of parity nonconservation, Lee model, relativistic heavy ion collision (RHIC) physics, and non topological soliton field theory.

In 1957, together with Yang Zhenning, he won the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering parity nonconservation in weak interactions. In 1985, he advocated the establishment of China Post Doctoral mobile station and China Post Doctoral science foundation, and served as the consultant of national post doctoral Management Committee and honorary chairman of China Post Doctoral science foundation. In 1986, with the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he won the funding from Italy and founded the China Center for advanced science and Technology (CCAST) as its director. Later, Zhejiang modern physics center in Zhejiang University and Li Zhengdao experimental physics center in Fudan University were established. He was elected as a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1994. On April 7, 2018, he served as honorary director of Li Zhengdao Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University. He was honorary director of riken-bnl research center in 2004. Since 2006, he has been the director of high energy physics research center of Peking University. In 2016, he won the honor of "2015 Chinese cultural figure".

Li Zhengdao mainly studies quantum field theory, basic particle theory, nuclear physics, statistical mechanics, fluid mechanics and astrophysics.

Character experience

Born in Shanghai in 1926.

He graduated from Jiangxi United middle school in 1943.

In 1943, he was admitted to the Department of physics of Zhejiang University, which moved to Guizhou Province. He began to study physics under the guidance of Professor Shu Xingbei and Wang Ganchang.

In 1944, he transferred to Kunming National Southwest Associated University.

In 1946, he was recommended by Professor Wu Dayou to go to the United States to enter the University of Chicago, where he studied with Professor Fermi, a Nobel laureate and master of physics.

In June 1950, he received a doctorate from the University of Chicago. He is an assistant researcher in the Department of astronomy at the University of Chicago. He is engaged in turbulence in fluid mechanics, phase transition in statistical physics and Polaron in condensed matter physics.

From 1950 to 1951, he was an assistant researcher and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley.

From 1951 to 1953, he became a member of Princeton Institute of higher studies.

From 1953 to 1960, he successively served as assistant professor, associate professor and professor of Columbia University. He is mainly engaged in the field of particle physics and field theory. Three years later, Li Zhengdao, 29, became the youngest full professor in the 200 year history of Columbia University. He opened up the fields of symmetry breaking in weak interaction, high energy neutrino physics and relativistic heavy ion collision physics.

In 1956, he and Yang Zhenning put forward the theory of parity nonconservation.

In 1956, he cooperated with Yang Zhenning to put forward the theory of parity nonconservation in weak interaction and won the 1957 Nobel Prize in physics.

In 1958, he won the physics prize of Princeton University together with Yang Zhenning and Wu Jianxiong, and was awarded the honorary doctor's degree in physics of Princeton University.

From 1960 to 1963, he was a professor at Princeton Institute of higher studies.

In 1961, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

1963-1964, professor at Columbia University.

From 1964 to 1984, he was professor of Fermi physics at Columbia University.

In 1970, he received the honorary doctor of law degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

In 1984, he returned to China to attend the 16th academician conference of Academia Sinica.

In 1986, he served as lifelong director of China Center for advanced science and technology and director of Beijing Modern Physics Research Center. In December, Columbia held a celebration for Li Zhengdao's 60th birthday.

In 1988, the International Symposium on synchrotron radiation applications was held in Beijing.

In 1984, he won the highest title of university professor and is still one of the most active professors in scientific research at Columbia University. His interest turned to the study of the properties of HTS bosons, neutrino mapping matrices, and new ways to solve the Schrodinger equation.

In 1986, he was the director of China Center for higher science and technology.

In 1986, he was director of Beijing Modern Physics center.

In 1988, he was director of Zhejiang modern physics center.

From 1997 to 2003, he was the director of riken-bnl research center.

In 2004, he was honorary director of riken-bnl research center.

In 1990, he became a member of the board of directors of Tel Aviv University in Israel.

In 2004, he was honorary director of riken-bnl research center.

Since 2006, he has been director of high energy physics research center of Peking University.

In 2018, he served as honorary director of Li Zhengdao Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Personal life

Father: Li Junkang, the first graduate of Agricultural Chemistry Department of Jinling University.

Wife: Qin Huijun, who died on November 29, 1996.

Sons: Li Zhongqing, Li Zhonghan, daughter-in-law Huang Meifen.

Main achievements

Achievements in scientific research

Li Zhengdao's research field is very wide. He has also made great achievements in quantum field theory, basic particle theory, nuclear physics, statistical mechanics, fluid mechanics and astrophysics.

In 1949, he cooperated with rosenbras and Yang Zhenning to propose the universal Fermi weak interaction and the existence of intermediate bosons. In 1951, it was proposed that there is no turbulence in two-dimensional space in hydraulics. In 1952, he cooperated with pines to study the structure of Polaron in solid state physics. In 1954, the famous "Lee model" theory in quantum field theory was published.

In 1957, he cooperated with oHme and Yang Zhenning to propose the possibility of charge conjugation non conservation and time non inversion. In 1959, he cooperated with Yang Zhenning to study the molecular dynamics theory of hard sphere Bose gas, and contributed to the study of superfluidity of helium Ⅱ. In 1962, we cooperated with Yang Zhenning to study the irreducible normalization of charged vector meson electromagnetic interaction.

In 1964, in cooperation with naunberg, we studied the problem that the infrared divergence can be completely offset in the process of particles without (still) mass. This work is also called Lee naunberg theorem. Field algebra theory was put forward in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, we studied the problem of CP spontaneous breaking, discovered and studied the non topological solitons, and established the soliton bag model theory of hadron structure. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, we continued to work on path integral problem, lattice gauge problem and time as dynamic variable, and later established the basis of discrete mechanics.

Award winning record

Honorary recognition

In 1994, he was elected as a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Anecdotes of characters

On January 23, 1998, Li Zhengdao invested 300000 US dollars to set up the "China University research support fund" in the name of him and his late wife Qin Hui (Zhu Jun), to support undergraduate students of Peking University, Fudan University, Lanzhou University, Suzhou University and Shanghai Jiaotong University (newly added) to engage in research support work. Li Zhengdao has made great efforts for the development of China's education and the scientific cause.

Character evaluation

Li Zhengdao's experience shows that "physics" is by no means the whole of his way of life. Art and the history and culture of the motherland strongly influenced, influenced and attracted him, which made him "have unique views in the field of philosophy and Humanities and art", and have profound attainments in the integration of science and art. (Netease Entertainment review)

Li Zhengdao's research field is very broad, and he has made a lot of achievements in high energy physics, particle physics, astrophysics, fluid mechanics, statistical physics, condensed matter physics, general relativity and so on. "Physics became his way of life" raised new questions and ideas creatively, made outstanding achievements in science, and made great contributions to the cause of science and education of the motherland. (Sina online review)

In 1959, British scientist C.P. snow delivered a famous speech on "two cultures" at the reed lecture of Cambridge University. He said that Li Yang's discovery is one of the most amazing achievements in the history of science, which is comparable to the successful launch of man-made earth satellite in 1957. Snow said: "this is an extremely beautiful and creative achievement. People are so shocked that they forget how beautiful their thinking is. It makes us rethink some basic principles of the physical world."

Naming organization

Li Zhengdao science and Art Center of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, established in 2018, hopes to answer "Qian Xuesen's question" and cultivate outstanding creative talents.

Li Zhengdao College of science and art, founded in Southwest University on November 24, 2020.

Character influence

Establishment of Junzheng fund

Qin Huijun, Li Zhengdao, China University Student Internship fund. On November 29, 1996, Qin Huijun died. Li Zhengdao and his family announced that "in memory of Huijun, they are going to set up the" Qin Huijun and Li Zhengdao Chinese college students' internship and further education fund "(hereinafter referred to as" Junzheng fund "). It is specially used to support Outstanding Undergraduates of the motherland to practice scientific research and contact scientists in their vacation or spare time. The fund is mainly funded by all the savings of Li Zhengdao and Qin Huijun, and then gradually expanded. According to Qin Huijun's last wish, half of the college students who receive financial aid every year must be girls. The fund was established in 1998.

Chinese PinYin : Li Zheng Dao