Asteroid named after famous Chinese nuclear scientist

An asteroid was named after former president of Fudan University and Chinese nuclear scientist Yang Fujia, in honor of his scientific spirit and educational philosophy.

The National Astronomical Observatories chose the asteroid code 85728. Yang was born on July 28, 1936.

A series of events took place on Wednesday to commemorate the second anniversary of his death.

Yang, a famous Chinese nuclear physicist, educator and scholar of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, died in Shanghai on July 17, 2022 at the age of 86.

He made significant contributions to the country’s applied physics and achieved tremendous success in areas such as nuclear energy spectroscopy, nuclear decay analysis and ion beam research. He also made significant contributions to the growth of higher education in China as well as international educational exchanges.

He served as dean of the School of Modern Physics at Fudan, head of the Graduate School, and vice president before becoming president in 1993.

Yang insisted that prominent professors should teach students. He also launched various initiatives to enable students to participate in scientific research. The goal is to teach young people the thinking behind scientific research and teach them how to identify questions and find solutions.

Yang became the sixth Chancellor of the University of Nottingham in 2001, the first Chinese academic to hold such a position at a British university, and remained in the post for 12 years.

His efforts led to the establishment of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China in 2004.

Yang suggested establishing a foundation to support relevant scholarships and research grants.