Educator and mathematician Qian Weichang dies

Scientist Qian Weichang , who was renowned as an applied mathematician and physicist before becoming famous for his efforts in higher education, died in Shanghai yesterday, aged 98.

Born in 1912 in Wuxi, Jiangsu , Qian was regarded as one of the pioneers of modern mechanics in China.

He was respected not only for his outstanding achievements in physics but also his efforts in education reform while he was president of Shanghai University.

'He was a diligent and talented person and most importantly thought highly of education and the cultivation of talent,' said Jiang Jinsong, an associate professor at Tsinghua University's Institute of Science, Technology and Society.

As president of Shanghai University (formerly the Shanghai University of Technology) from 1983, Qian devoted himself to the reconstruction of the university and higher education reform. In 1992, he pushed for mainland universities to introduce credit for previous study.

Qian's catchphrase was that it was never too old to learn.

'I began studying mechanics at 36, Russian at 44 and battery knowledge at 55,' he said. 'Computers couldn't scare me either.'

He was admitted to Tsinghua University to study arts in 1931 but switched to physics after the Mukden incident, which led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, only two days after he entered the university because he believed that science could save the country.

Qian received his PhD degree in mathematics from Canada's University of Toronto in 1942.

In 1946, he returned to China and served as mechanics professor at Tsinghua University, Peking University and Yanjing University.

He was appointed vice-president of Tsinghua University in 1956 but was seen as a rightist because he criticised the removal of science majors in the 1950s. He was labelled an ultra-rightist in 1958, but this was redressed in 1983.

During the Cultural Revolution, he worked at a Beijing steel company, invented the best hydraulic press in Beijing and was called professor by his workmates. He read books at night to avoid detection.