Born in Shanghai, Prof. Fujia Yang received a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University in 1958. He stayed at Fudan and was among the first handful of members when the Institute of Modern Physics and the Department of Nuclear Science and Technology of Fudan University were established. He was a visiting fellow at Niels Bohr Institute under the mentorship of Professor A. Bohr. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as well as a member of the China Central Institute of Culture and History. He served as director of the CAS-Shanghai Institute of Nuclear Research, and was the president of Fudan University from 1994 to 1999. He was chancellor of the University of Nottingham in England from January 2001 to December 2012. He was instrumental in establishing the University of Nottingham Ningbo China in 2004 and served as president of the university.
His early research while at Niels Bohr Institute focused on nuclear spectroscopy. He observed and measured E0 transitions of 0+ states, which were interpreted as transitions from excited 0+ states to the 0+ ground state. The experimental study verified that the internal conversion electron was the channel of such transitions.
Prof. Yang took part in the design and manufactory of a 3 MV Van de Graaff accelerator at Fudan. He developed a research program using ion beams. One of the high-profile projects was to analyze chemical elements in a 2,200-year-old archeological arrowhead. The results showed that in China’s ancient times a chromium surface treatment technology was used for corrosion resistance. The composition analysis on the famous Goujian sword of the king of Yue opened up a new field of scientific and technological archaeology in China. In 1987, Prof. Yang successfully led a project to develop a modern atomic and nuclear physics laboratory at Fudan. Following his suggestion, the Shanghai Electron Beam Ion Trap laboratory was set up.
In 1995, Prof. Yang and other officials submitted a motion for a mega-scale scientific facility of the third-generation Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) to the Shanghai local government, which committed to the financial investment of not less than one-third of the total budget for the construction. Afterward, the SSRF was developed into a full construction proposal and eventually was approved by the central government in 2004. After operation in 2009, SSRF continues to be one of the largest research facilities in Shanghai, generating many excellent scientific achievements over the years.
Prof. Yang was a wonderful teacher to many generations of students. He was the author of Atomic Physics for undergraduates and won the first national prize for excellent textbooks in 2021. He coauthored with Prof. J. H. Hamilton the English textbook Modern Atomic and Nuclear Physics.
Prof. Yang left a long-lasting legacy at Fudan. The research areas of nuclear physics, highly charged ion physics, and ion beam application at Fudan continue to flourish and are among the best in China. His colleagues and students continue to cherish the memory of his dedication to research, education, and relentless promotion of international exchanges and collaboration. He will be missed.
Yu-Gang Ma, Hao Shen & Ya-Ming Zou, In Memoriam: Fujia Yang
(1936–2022). Nuclear Physics News 33(1), 37 (2023). DOI: 10.1080/10619127.2023.2168924