Xie Xide - An Outstanding Scientist and Educator

Abstract

Xie Xide was born in Quanzhou, Fujian province, in 1921, into a family that prized education. Although she spent much of her youth in Beijing, and her career as a scientist and university leader in Shanghai, she did her undergraduate studies at Xiamen University, and thus was a fellow student of Pan Maoyuan, whose story has been told in chapter five. The daughter of a physicist, Xie Xide chose physics as her main subject in university, and pursued a distinguished career as a scientist, making important contributions to the field of solid-state physics in China. She was also an outstanding educational leader, the first woman president of a major comprehensive university in socialist China, and a key figure in the development of China’s educational relations with the international community.