Former President of Tsinghua University, won the highest national science and technology awardWang Dazhong, former president of Tsinghua University, as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a famous nuclear energy scientist, won the highest national science and technology award, leaving a strong mark in China's scientific community. Wang Dazhong has made outstanding achievements in the field of advanced nuclear energy and has made outstanding contributions to the development of this field in China. His life experience, outstanding contributions, and outstanding leadership as Tsinghua University have all painted a rich and wonderful picture of his life.
Wang Dazhong, born in 1935 in Changli, Hebei Province, has always cherished a love for science and a desire for exploration. At a time when Chinese science was just ushering in its embryonic period, he resolutely chose to embark on the road of science and entered Tsinghua University to study nuclear reactors in the Department of Engineering Physics. It was an era full of challenges and opportunities, and Wang Dazhong started his journey on the road of scientific research.
From 1958 to 1983, Wang Dazhong spent this time at the Institute of Nuclear Energy at Tsinghua University. Through his unremitting efforts, he successfully rose from assistant engineer to director of the reactor design office, and he overcame one technical difficulty after another in the field of nuclear reactors. During this period, the design, construction and operation of China's self-built shielded experimental reactors marked the beginning of China's development of nuclear energy science.
Wang Dazhong's scientific journey did not stop there. After 1983, he presided over the cryogenic nuclear heating reactor project and served as the person in charge of the national key research project. In this project, he led the team to successfully build the world's first integrated natural cycle cryogenic nuclear heating reactor, becoming China's leader in the field of advanced nuclear energy. This achievement has not only had an important impact on the international community, but also laid a solid foundation for China to move towards the forefront of nuclear energy science and technology in the world.
In addition to his outstanding contributions in the field of advanced nuclear energy, Wang Dazhong's scientific research work has been involved in a number of key technical fields. His team successfully built the world's first modular pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled experimental reactor, which has made great contributions to the innovation of China's nuclear energy science and technology. Leading the construction of the 200MW high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant demonstration project, a major national science and technology project, has made a milestone breakthrough in high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology.
Under Wang Dazhong's leadership, Tsinghua University has also made remarkable achievements in scientific research and education. He served as President of Tsinghua University from 1994 to 2003 and devoted his life to the overall development of Tsinghua University. Under his leadership, Tsinghua University has grown in prestige across the country and around the world, becoming one of the world's leading universities. His leadership style is full of strategic thinking and a dedication to education, which makes him not only an executive leader, but also a spiritual leader.
Wang Dazhong's outstanding achievements and leadership style have not only been highly recognized in the academic community, but also won the respect of all walks of life. He led the development of Tsinghua University with sober thinking and orderly arrangement, encouraging teachers and students to jump and run to chase high-level academic breakthroughs. This approachable and scholarly leader has remained sober in the midst of the chaos and has inspired the teachers and students of Tsinghua University with his actions.
In addition to his outstanding performance in the academic and management fields, Wang Dazhong has also received a series of honors and medals. In 1986, he was named a national young and middle-aged expert with outstanding contributions, and is one of the leaders in the field of scientific research in China. In 1987, he was awarded the National "May Day" Labor Medal and the title of National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker, which once again proved his hard work in the field of science and technology. In 2007, he was awarded the Ho Leung Ho Lee Science and Technology Award, highlighting his important contribution to scientific and technological innovation. Most notably, he was awarded the highest national science and technology award in 2020, which is the highest recognition of his life's contribution and the highest recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of nuclear energy science.
He is committed to the development of advanced nuclear energy systems with inherent safety characteristics, which has laid an important technical foundation for China to gradually move to the forefront of the world in the field of nuclear energy science and technology. His academic research and educational practice complement each other and together build his fruitful life at Tsinghua University. His academic achievements and leadership have contributed greatly to the prosperity of China's scientific and technological undertakings and the development of the country. His deeds will continue to inspire the majority of scientific research workers and students, become the leader of China's science and technology, and continue to contribute his wisdom and strength to innovation-driven development.