Instruments and metrology science education pioneer Wang Daheng passes away
The "Meritorious Medal for Two Bombs and One Satellite" recipient, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, academician of the International Academy of Astronautics, renowned optical scientist Wang Daheng passed away at 13:02 on July 21, 2011 in Beijing due to illness, at the age of 96. Mr. Wang Daheng was one of the pioneers of China's optics, instruments, and metrology science education, known as the "Father of Modern Chinese Optics," making outstanding contributions to China's optical research and optical instrument manufacturing.
A name in the history of new China's scientific and technological development
In the history of new China's scientific and technological development, there are several landmark events: the formulation of the 12-year scientific development long-term plan in 1956, the proposal of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" research plan in 1958, the formulation of the "863 Plan" in 1986, and the medium- and long-term scientific and technological development plan formulated in recent years. In these events, Wang Daheng was more or less associated with them. In September 1999, the state awarded the "Meritorious Medal for Two Bombs and One Satellite" to 23 scientists who made outstanding contributions to the research of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite." This was Wang Daheng's most grand public appearance before the public.
No optics means no precision measurement equipment
Wang Daheng was born on February 26, 1915, with ancestral roots in Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. He graduated from the Physics Department of Tsinghua University in 1936. In 1938, he was admitted as a "Geng Fund" overseas student and studied applied optics at Imperial College London, obtaining a Master of Science degree. From 1941 to 1942, he pursued his Ph.D. at the Glass Manufacturing Technology Department of Sheffield University in the UK. From 1942 to 1948, he engaged in optical glass research work at the Charns Glass Company in the UK. In 1948, filled with dreams of strengthening the country through science and technology, Wang Daheng returned to his homeland.
At the beginning of the founding of New China, applied optics in China was almost a blank slate. However, without optics and optical glass, it would be impossible to develop high-level precision measurement equipment, and enhancing a nation's defense strength would be out of the question. History chose Wang Daheng. In 1951, upon Qian Sanqiang's recommendation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to let Wang Daheng take charge of the establishment of the Instrumentation Institute, thus marking the beginning of New China's optical industry.
In the archives room of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics, there are preserved budgets and plans personally made by Wang Daheng for the establishment of the institute. 14 million kilograms of millet were all the funds used to create this institute at the time. Using these 14 million kilograms of millet, Wang Daheng began to fill the blanks in China's optical field one after another.
Dream of strengthening the country through science and technology
In the late 1950s, China decided to independently research and develop the "Two Bombs and One Satellite." In this monumental project recorded in history, Wang Daheng's optical research played an irreplaceable role as an important means of detection, measurement, observation, and recording. As an optical scientist, Wang Daheng led nearly a thousand people to provide indispensable optical observation equipment for the successful research and development of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite": high-speed cameras used to record the power of the fireball from China's first atomic bomb explosion, the Earth observation system used by China's first recoverable Earth observation satellite, etc. Even today, during the launch of China's "Shenzhou" series of spacecraft, they still play an important role.
Wang Daheng realized the dream of strengthening the country through science and technology for both himself and his father, two generations of intellectuals, with his wisdom and patriotic enthusiasm.
In 1983, Wang Daheng was transferred to Beijing to serve as the Director of the Technical Sciences Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since then, his focus was no longer solely on the optical cause he had pioneered but also on the overall development of China's science and technology. Wang Daheng thought strategically and jointly proposed multiple significant suggestions regarding the development of national science and technology with other scientists. The suggestion about tracking and researching strategic high technologies eventually became the National "High Technology Research Development Program Outline" (briefly referred to as the "863 Plan"), making the development of high technology an important strategic deployment for realizing China's modernization in science and technology. These suggestions actively contributed to national science and technology decision-making and had far-reaching impacts.
Wang Daheng was also an outstanding educator and one of the pioneers of China's optical, instrumentation, and metrology science education. Under his leadership in the research institute and the educational institutions he founded, a large number of scientific and technological talents were cultivated for the country.
Wang Daheng once said that he was a fortunate child of the times, and it was this era that allowed him to realize his ideal of strengthening the country through science and technology. In fact, our Chinese nation is equally fortunate because they devoted their entire lives to measuring and shortening the gap between China's science and technology and the world.
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Only 9 of the 23 "Two Bombs and One Satellite" heroes remain
Zhu Guangya has passed away, Wang Daheng has passed away, and another star among the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" heroes who fought for the scientific and technological cause of the republic has fallen. Counting the 23 "Two Bombs and One Satellite" heroes of the republic, only 9 remain alive.
On September 18, 1999, on the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission decided to commend 23 scientific experts who made outstanding contributions to the research of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" and award them the "Meritorious Medal for Two Bombs and One Satellite."