Xu Guangxian

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Xu.

Xu Guangxian
徐光宪
Born(1920-11-07)November 7, 1920[1]
Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
DiedApril 28, 2015(2015-04-28) (aged 94)[2]
Beijing, China
NationalityChinese
Alma materZhejiang University of Technology
Shanghai Jiaotong University
Washington University in St. Louis
Columbia University
Known for"The Father of Chinese Rare Earths Chemistry"
Spouse
​
(m. 1946⁠–⁠1998)​
Scientific career
FieldsRare earths
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese徐光憲
Simplified Chinese徐光宪

Xu Guangxian (Chinese: 徐光宪; November 7, 1920 – April 28, 2015), also known as Kwang-hsien Hsu, was a Chinese chemist. He was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Science who is respected for his contributions in both theoretical and experimental chemistry.[3][4] He is a former president of the Chinese Chemical Society, and is known as "The Father of Chinese Rare Earths Chemistry".[5][4]

Early life and education[edit]

Xu was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang[4] on November 7, 1920.[1] He entered Hangzhou Advanced Industrial Vocational School in Zhejiang[2] (now part of Zhejiang University of Technology).[6] Due to the Anti-Japanese War, the students and faculty were relocated to an advanced industrial school in Ningbo, where Xu graduated in 1939.[2]

In 1940 Xu entered Jiaotong University in Shanghai (now known as Shanghai Jiao Tong University, SJTU).[7] Again, there was disruption at the university because of the war.[8] Xu received his B.Sc. in 1944.[7] In 1945, Xu Guangxian worked as a teaching assistant at SJTU, with professor Gu Jidong.[7] He married one of his classmates, chemist Gao Xiaoxia in 1946.[9]

Xu and Gao passed national examinations for studying abroad in 1946. Xu traveled to the United States in 1948 to attend the graduate school of Washington University in St. Louis. After ranking first in a probationary summer class at Columbia University in New York City, he was able to transfer to Columbia.[2] There he studied quantum chemistry with a minor in physics from 1948 to 1951.[3] He also worked as a teaching assistant, enabling Gao Xiaoxia to join him and study analytical chemistry at New York University.[2]

Xu received his MS in 1949 and his PhD in 1951[10][11] working with Charles O. Beckmann.[12] His thesis in quantum chemistry was "Optically Active Quantum Chemical Theory".[2] In February 1949, he became a member of the Phi Lambda Upsilon National Honorary Chemical Society (ΦΛΥ). In October 1950, Xu became a member of Sigma Xi (ΣΞ).[2]

Meanwhile, in China, the Chinese Civil War resulted in the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The Korean War broke out in June, 1950. Soon after, the United States government passed an act forbidding Chinese citizens who were studying in America from returning to China.[13] Concerned that they might not be allowed to return home if they waited until Gao Xiaoxia received her Ph.D., Xu Guangxian and Gao Xiaoxia applied for short-term visas to China. On April 15, 1951, they left for China on the USS General Gordon, one of the last three cruisers to leave for China before the American ban went into effect.[7]

Career[edit]

After returning to China in 1951, Xu became an associate professor at the Department of Chemistry of Peking University. By autumn 1952, he held professorships in both the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Technical Physics. Xu held various directorships at the university. He worked primarily in the areas of quantum chemistry and chemical bonding theory. He studied the bonding characteristics of molecules and proposed a formula relating the order of filling of atomic orbital levels to the grouping of elements into periods in the periodic table. This led to greater understanding of the lanthanides and actinides.[3]

Xu became the department dean in 1956 and directed the department of radiation chemistry.[14] Xu was involved in the Chinese nuclear weapons development program, in which he played a role in separating and extracting elements for nuclear fuels. In particular, he did experimental research on the separation of Uranium-235 and Uranium-238.[14][15] After 1966, when the Cultural Revolution began, Xu's department stopped doing atomic research.[16]

During the Cultural Revolution, Xu and his wife Gao Xiaoxia were accused of spying for the Kuomintang and sent to a labor camp from 1969 to 1972.[12][16]: 8 

The element praseodymium

When he returned to Peking University in 1972, Xu was asked to change his field of study to the extraction of praseodymium, a rare earth element.[12][3] During the 1970s, Xu studied the theoretical basis and design for solvent extraction, developed mathematical models, and made important contributions towards the development of separation processes for rare earth elements.[16][17][18] Gao Xiaoxia's development of microanalytical techniques in polarography contributed to the success of Xu's research.[16][12] Xu developed the process of countercurrent extraction (also known as series extraction or cascade extraction)[12][16] and substantially reduced both the time needed to extract materials, and their resulting cost.[14]

Xu founded the Research Center of Rare Earth Chemistry as of 1986 and was essential in establishing the State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications in 1989.[4][3] He served as director and as chairman of its academic committee.[3][19]

In 2005, Xu Guangxian raised concerns about the mining of thorium in the Baotou area, where mine wastes were released into the Yellow River.[16][20] The Yellow River is a source of drinking water for an estimated 150 million people, so radioactive contamination is a very serious issue.[21] Xu has suggested that the Chinese develop stocks of rare earths to stave off shortages of rare earths.[22]

Xu published more than 500 reviewed papers[3] and several books. These included Principle of Extraction Chemistry, Rare Earth Solvent Extraction, The Structure of Matter and The Basic Principles of Quantum Chemistry and Ab-initio Calculation.[3] Xu has supervised hundreds of students.[12]

Awards and honors[edit]

Xu died in Beijing on April 28, 2015, at age 94.[2][26][27]

Memberships[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "State Supreme Science and Technology Award of China". CPC Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gu Weiming (April 28, 2015). "Recall Father of China's Rare Earth, Alumnus of SJTU Academician Xu Guangxian". Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lemin Li (2009). "Preface" (PDF). Science in China Series B: Chemistry. 52 (11): 1715–1722. doi:10.1007/s11426-009-0286-6. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "PROFILE OF XU GUANGXIAN". The Holeung Ho Lee Foundation. 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  5. ^ Zhu Jing (January 1, 2012). Xu Guangxian: Father of Chinese Rare Earths Chemistry (Chinese ed.). China Science and Technology Press.
  6. ^ "History". Zhejiang University of Technology. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "Xu Guangxian". Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2010. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "About Us". School of Chemistry, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  9. ^ "Women of China". Beijing. 1998: 30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ Klinger, Julie Michelle (2017). Rare earth frontiers : from terrestrial subsoils to lunar landscapes. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 100–102. ISBN 978-1501714603.
  11. ^ a b Hepeng Jia; Lihui Di (March 31, 2009). "Xu Guangxian: a chemical life". Chemistry World. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Mainz, Vera V. (2018). "Chapter 5: History of the modern chemistry doctoral program in mainland China". In Rasmussen, Seth C. (ed.). Igniting the chemical ring of fire : historical evolution of the chemical communities of the Pacific Rim. New Jersey: World Scientific. pp. 115–119. ISBN 9781786344540. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  13. ^ Yelong Han (1993). "An Untold Story: American Policy toward Chinese Students in the United States, 1949–1955". The Journal of American-East Asian Relations. 2 (1 (Special Issue: The Impact of the Korean War)): 77–99. doi:10.1163/187656193X00095. JSTOR 23612667.
  14. ^ a b c d Peng Kuang (January 10, 2009). "Chemist's contributions worth their weight in gold". China Daily. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  15. ^ 百度百科 1959年2月 开始从事铀-235同位素分离方法的研究，讲授核燃料化学。
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Hurst, Cindy (March 2010). "China's Rare Earth Elements Industry: What Can the West Learn?" (PDF). Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS)].
  17. ^ Evans, C. H. (December 6, 2012). Episodes from the History of the Rare Earth Elements. Springer Netherlands. p. 137. ISBN 978-94-009-0287-9. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Zhu Jing (May 18, 2012). "Study on scientific thought and method of Xu Guangxian". Chemistry Bulletin / Huaxue Tongbao. 75 (3): 284–288.
  19. ^ Goldman, Joanne Abel (April 2014). "The U.S. Rare Earth Industry: Its Growth and Decline". Journal of Policy History. 26 (2): 139–166. doi:10.1017/s0898030614000013. ISSN 0898-0306. S2CID 154319330.
  20. ^ Xu Guangxian (October 20, 2005). "An Emergency Call for the Protection of Thorium and Rare Earth Resources at Baiyun Erbo and the Prevention of Radioactive Contamination of the Yellow River and Baotou". Chinese Academy of Sciences. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. ^ "China's dilemma: how to mine rare earths whilst protecting reserves and the environment". Asia News. March 15, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  22. ^ "Chinese Rare Earth Expert Calls for Immediate Stockpiling". Metal-Pages. November 2, 200.
  23. ^ Xu Yang (June 22, 2013). "SJTU Outstanding Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Zhang Guangdou Passed Away". Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  24. ^ "(345871) Xuguangxian". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  25. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  26. ^ Jin Panzhu. "In Memory of Master Xu Guangxian MAY 09 2015". Peking University. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  27. ^ 刘原革 (April 28, 2015). 中国稀土之父徐光宪院士逝世 曾获国家最高科学技术奖 (in Chinese). 中国新闻网. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  28. ^ The Chinese Society of Rare Earths(CSRE) Archived February 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Selected publications of Xu Guangxian Archived March 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ Voncken, J.H.L. (2016). The Rare Earth Elements : an Introduction (1st. 2016 ed.). Springer. p. 111. ISBN 9783319268071. Retrieved May 23, 2019.

External links[edit]

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