Prof. Wu Yuefang, an emeritus faculty of PKU astronomy, passed away peacefully on December 13 after a long illness. During her career, Prof. Wu made significant contributions to our understanding of star formation through her own research and through her students. In addition to her research, Prof. Wu was known as a dedicated advisor, mentor, and teacher for many students.
Prof. Wu's research on the energetics of star formation contribute to our framework for the importance of outflows and infall in the formation of stars and how those outflows affect the cloud. Her results include the 2004 paper, "A study of high velocity molecular outflows with an up-to-date sample", in Astronomy and Astrophysics, which has been cited 273 times. She was a key driver of the Planck Cold Cores program, which leveraged the Planck Survey to identify the coldest dust clouds in the Milky Way and associate them with sites of ongoing or future star formation. These results led to follow-up programs with ALMA and JCMT, led by her former students.
During her career, Prof. Wu advised at least 11 PhD students, 11 master students, and 31 undergraduates, all listed below. Many of her students were able to visit Prof. Wu this summer at the conference, "EPIC 2024 - Early Phase and Initial Conditions of Galactic Massive Star Formation", hosted on the occasion of her 86th birthday in honor of her career. “She is a pure scientist, a model for all of us, either as a researcher or a supervisor. She initiated the star formation research in China and dedicated her entire career to the community, for more than 50 years. I will never again see her taking a walk by Weiming Lake, but whenever I point a telescope to the sky, I know she is among the stars,” said emotionally by Prof. Wang Ke, her former PhD student and leader of the star formation research group at PKU.
Prof. Wu graduated from PKU in 1964 after a 6-year university program with a major in nuclear physics. About ten years later, Prof. Wu joined the Astronomy Division in the Department of Geophysics at PKU, which in 2000 evolved into Department of Astronomy at School of Physics, and began researching the interstellar medium. Prof. Wu won many prizes, including the Outstanding University Research Award by the Ministry of Education in 2011, Outstanding Contribution Teacher by the School of Physics and the School of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University in 2018, the Special Prize for Academic Contribution of Retired Faculty and Staff of Peking University in 2019, and the 15th Zhang Yuzhe Award, the highest lifetime honor of the Chinese Astronomical Society.
Prof. Wu’s dedication and care for others extended far beyond her students. Prof. Luis Ho, Director of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University, said, “Apart from her tireless dedication to science, which she continued to practice well past her retirement, what I will remember with fondness is Prof. Wu's gentle compassion. When I first came to Beijing in 2014, she was very warm and kind to me, often expressing concern for my personal well-being.”
Scientists in Prof. Wu's generation had to work extra hard to develop an internationally competitive research career. Prof. Wu found her opportunity when she studied with Prof. Neal Evans, a leading expert in star formation, at University of Texas in a US-China cooperation program, culminating in her first first-author article in the Astrophysical Journal, "A Reexamination of the Energetics of Molecular Clouds", in 1989. "When I heard of her passing, my thoughts flashed to the time she appeared at my office in Austin to work with me for 6 months," said Prof. Evans. “Somehow, she found a way to stay for about 2 years, working tirelessly to learn and explore. She had enormous will power to achieve her goals.”
Prof. Wu established long-term collaboration with numerous astronomers around the globe. Prof. Zhang Qizhou, Senior Astrophysicist and Chair of the Radio & Geoastronomy Division, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics wrote: “Prof. Wu was a truly remarkable person. She dedicated her career to astronomical research and to student mentoring. As one of the pioneers in star formation research in China, she was instrumental to the development of the field in China. I have known Prof. Wu for nearly 30 years, and had fruitful collaborations with her and her former students! I recall fondly my numerous visits to PKU, the stimulating discussions on science, the group meetings with students on weekends, and wonderful food at restaurants. I will always remember her passion and dedication to research, and her kindness and warmth to everyone around her!”
Her former PhD student, Prof. Liu Tie, now a scientist at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, summarizes her life, “Prof. Wu is the real ‘high-mass star’, triggering the formation of generation after generation of young ‘new stars’ in her surroundings, through very strong and positive feedback. Though her life has burned out, she has transformed into a ‘pulsar’ that continues to illuminate our path forward, like a lighthouse!”
Prof. Wu was born on July 1, 1938 in Zhuji, Zhejiang. She joined the Communist Party in 1959 and dedicated her life to her family, education, scientific research, and the party and the country. She is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, and many students. She leaves behind a legacy of her own research in star formation and in building the star formation community in China.
An incomplete list of students (with graduation year) supervised by Prof. Wu Yuefang:
PhD:
1. 王均智 Wang Jun-Zhi, 2005
2. 加尔肯·叶生别克 Jarken Esimbek, 2006
3. 汪洋 Wang Yang, 2006
4. 朱磊 Zhu Lei, 2011
5. 王科 Wang Ke, 2012
6. 任致远 Ren Zhi-Yuan, 2012
7. 刘铁 Liu Tie, 2013
8. 袁敬华 Yuan Jing-Hua, 2014
9. 刘洪礼 Liu Hong-Li, 2017
10. 张超 Zhang Chao, 2021
11. 刘训川 Liu Xun-Chuan, 2021
Master:
1. 何俊 He Jun, 1993
2. 张华伟 Zhang Hua-Wei, 1994
3. 郑力锋 Zheng Li-Feng, 1997
4. 李月兴 Li Yue-Xing, 1998
5. 陈挺东 Chen Ting-Dong, 1999
6. 吴京文 Wu Jing-Wen, 2001
7. 王均智 Wang Jun-Zhi, 2001
8. 秦胜利 Qin Sheng-Li, 2002
9. 孙科峰 Sun Ke-Feng, 2003
10. 魏悦 Wei Yue, 2006
11. 关欣 Guan Xin, 2007
Bachelor:
1. 郝晋新 Hao Jinxin, 1988
2. 黄茂海 Huang Maohai, 1991
3. 杨传义 Yang Chuan-Yi, 1997
4. 吴京文 Wu Jing-Wen, 1998
5. 孙科峰 Sun Ke-Feng, 2000
6. 王炜 Wang Wei, 2002
7. 杨浩 Yang Hao, 2002
8. 施勇 Shi Yong, 2003
9. 俞文涛 Yu Wen-Tao, 2003
10. 赵明 Zhao Ming,2003
11. 魏悦 Wei Yue, 2003
12. 杨波 Yang Bo, 2005
13. 朱磊 Zhu Lei, 2005
14. 薛睿 Xue Rui, 2006
15. 顾玮来 Gu Wei-Lai, 2006
16. 冉靓 Ran Liang, 2006
17. 孙彤 Sun Tong, 2006
18. 戴昱 Dai Yu, 2007
19. 曹文雯 Cao Wen-Wen, 2008
20. 骆相宜 Luo Xiang-Yi, 2008
21. 毛寓安 Mao Yu-An, 2009
22. 孔朔 Kong Shuo, 2011
23. 刘博洋 Liu Bo-Yang, 2012
24. 孙宁晨 Sun Ning-Chen, 2012
25. 龙凤 Long Feng, 2013
26. 孟繁一 Meng Fan-Yi, 2013
27. 张天惟 Zhang Tian-Wei, 2017
28. 王昱 Wang Yu, 2020
29. 许峰玮 Xu Feng-Wei, 2020
30. 刘振涛 Liu Zhen-Tao, 2022
31. 邹家航 Zou Jia-Hang, 2022
Condolences can be sent to Ms Zhao at zhao_dong_qing@pku.edu.cn
