Additional Coverage:
Renowned Nobel Laureate and Physicist Chen Ning Yang Dies at 103
Beijing, China – Chen Ning Yang, a towering figure in modern physics and a Nobel Prize laureate, passed away in Beijing on Saturday at the remarkable age of 103. The prestigious Tsinghua University, where Yang was both an alumnus and a revered professor, announced his passing, citing illness as the cause, though further details were not provided.
In a statement, Tsinghua University lauded Professor Yang as “one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, having made revolutionary contributions to the development of modern physics.” The institution also acknowledged his profound impact on China’s scientific and educational advancements.
Yang, alongside Tsung-Dao Lee, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their groundbreaking investigation into parity laws, which led to “important discoveries regarding the elementary particles.” Their achievement marked them as the first Chinese-born recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics.
During his Nobel Banquet speech, Yang expressed a profound sense of identity, stating, “I am heavy with an awareness of the fact that I am in more than one sense a product of both the Chinese and Western cultures, in harmony and in conflict.” This sentiment underscored his pride in his Chinese heritage and his deep commitment to modern science, which he recognized as originating from Western civilization.
Beyond his Nobel-winning work, Yang, also known as Frank or Franklin, was celebrated for his collaboration with American physicist Robert Mills, which resulted in the influential Yang-Mills theory.
Born in 1922, Yang’s early life was intertwined with the Tsinghua campus, where his father served as a mathematics professor. After completing his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Tsinghua, he pursued his doctorate at the University of Chicago in the United States in 1946.
There, he was significantly influenced by Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, a fellow Nobel laureate. Yang later held a professorship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
In 1986, he became a distinguished Professor-at-large at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, to which he generously donated numerous awards and articles, including his Nobel Prize. He returned to Tsinghua as a professor in 1999.
A 2017 report by China’s official news agency Xinhua revealed that Yang had obtained American citizenship, a decision he described as painful and one his father had not forgiven him for. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2015, acknowledging America as a beautiful country that provided him with invaluable opportunities in scientific study.
Chen Ning Yang is survived by his three children.