Serve the country with science and technology (Hundred Years of Struggle and Set Sail on a New Journey · Winner of the “July 1st Medal”)
“Go home, finally home!” In June 1956, when Lu Yuanjiu and his wife and children finally stood on the land of the motherland, which had been gone for many years, his heart was extremely happy.
In the 1940s, Lu Yuanjiu went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study. In 1949, he successfully obtained a doctorate degree, but what he never forgot was, “I am a Chinese, go back and do something for the Chinese.”
For decades, Lu Yuanjiu has been loyal to the party, has worked hard, devoted himself to research and dedicated himself. He participated in the preparation for the establishment of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He first proposed the concept of “recovered satellite”, creatively used automatic control viewpoints and methods to discuss the principles of gyro and inertial navigation, and made outstanding contributions to the construction of the “two bombs and one satellite” project and major aerospace projects.
The 101-year-old “July 1st Medal” winner and consultant of the Science and Technology Committee of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd. once said: “The motherland will always be my love. Working in my own country, no matter how hard it is, no matter how tired it is, it is happy.”
Resolutely choose to return to China
Lu Yuanjiu was born in Lai’an County, Anhui Province in January 1920. During the war, he went to school, witnessed the barbaric aggression by the Japanese invaders, and personally felt that the national power was weak and the people were not living, and the seeds of patriotism sprouted in his heart.
In 1937, the Central University, which had moved from Nanjing to Chongqing, sent a school opening notice to Lu Yuanjiu. During the artillery fire, he and his classmates could only attend classes in simple bungalows built on the top of the mountain. Sometimes, in order to avoid the bombing, they had to go to the air-raid shelters to study. Under these conditions, as the first batch of aeronautical technology college students in China, Lu Yuanjiu not only systematically studied the required courses of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, but also self-taught courses in aerodynamics and aircraft structure design, laying a solid foundation for further studies in the future. .
After graduation, Lu Yuanjiu stayed at the school as an assistant teacher. In the mid-1940s, he was admitted as a publicly funded international student and entered the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
With the attitude of “since you come to study abroad, you must learn new things”, he resolutely chose the major of instrumentation and studied under Professor Draper, who is known as the “father of world inertial navigation technology“. At that time, few people had heard of the research. “Inertial Navigation”. To study this major, not only do you have to learn a lot of new courses, but you also need to take an exam before completing the thesis, which discourages many foreign students. However, it is not difficult for Lu Yuanjiu, who is practical and diligent, for a long period of time, he was the first and only doctoral student in this major.
In 1949, he graduated with a Ph.D. and was hired by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate researcher and research engineer. But for Lu Yuanjiu, there is one more event that excites him: New China was born this year! It’s time to contribute to the motherland!
In 1955, Lu Yuanjiu returned to the motherland in 1956 after completing the formalities for returning to the country with his fists and fists in his heart. “Our generation is to dedicate the most precious years of life to the country and the nation.” Lu Yuanjiu said firmly.
Make outstanding contributions to the “two bombs and one satellite” project and the construction of major aerospace projects
At the beginning of his return to China, when the Chinese Academy of Sciences was preparing for the establishment of the Institute of Automation, Lu Yuanjiu was assigned to the institute due to his research expertise. He successively served as a researcher, research director and deputy director, and participated in the preparation of the institute and the research and development of inertial navigation technology.
In 1958, Lu Yuanjiu actively responded to the call of “We also want to engage in artificial satellites,” and proposed: to carry out research on automatic control of artificial satellites, and to use control methods to recover them. This is the first time in the world that the concept of “recycling satellites” has been proposed. At the same time, my country’s first sounding rocket instrument module model was also assembled in the hands of Lu Yuanjiu and his colleagues.
In 1964, Lu Yuanjiu’s book “Gyro and Inertial Navigation Principles (Volume 1)” was published. This book is one of the earliest monographs on inertial technology in my country. In 1965, he led the establishment of the Liquid Floating Inertial Technology Research Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and concurrently served as the director of the research office, presided over the development of single-degree-of-freedom liquid floating gyroscopes, liquid floating accelerometers and liquid floating gyroscope stabilized platforms. After that, my country’s first large-scale precision centrifuge was also born under his auspices.
Those who are familiar with Lu Yuanjiu know that he is “stubborn, and his essential characteristic is strict.” At work, he repeatedly told everyone: “If you don’t fully understand the technical problems, you will suffer. If you don’t understand the technical problems, the waist will not be hard.” “God’s products, 99 points fail, equivalent to zero points. 100 points. Only pass, and if you pass, you still have to judge good or bad.”
Take learning as a lifetime thing
In 1978, with the arrival of the “spring of science”, Lu Yuanjiu returned to the front line of scientific research. During his tenure as the director of the Beijing Institute of Control Devices, he actively participated in the demonstration of the aerospace model program. Based on the development trend of foreign inertial technology and the domestic technical foundation, he guided the demonstration of the inertial guidance scheme of the new generation of launch vehicles, and decided to adopt the single-degree-of-freedom gyro platform-computer scheme based on the new supporting technology. Lu Yuanjiu has always adhered to the spirit of “perfect one generation, develop one generation, and explore one generation”. Under his leadership, China Aerospace has successively carried out pre-research topics such as hydrostatic support technology and the development of various test equipment. In December 1982, Lu Yuanjiu gloriously joined the Communist Party of China.
“Take innovation as a long-distance race with no end” is a true portrayal of Lu Yuanjiu’s research career. Even if he leaves the front line of scientific research, as long as grassroots researchers knock on his door with materials, Lu Yuanjiu is still enthusiastic to help solve technical problems and go to the laboratory to do research work. He believes that in a field of cutting-edge science and technology such as aerospace, “learning is a lifetime thing, and R&D work requires continuous in-depth. Therefore, scientific and technological personnel must continue to advance, learn and innovate.”
It is Lu Yuanjiu’s long-cherished wish to make young people “progress faster”. People around him often say: “He pays attention to cultivating talents and is well-known among space experts.” Lu Yuanjiu himself often said: “The scientific style of talents is a relatively important issue facing China’s aerospace industry, and it is the sustainable development of the aerospace industry. Power and source are also the cornerstones of becoming a world-class aerospace company. We must solve this problem.” With his efforts, the aerospace system self-training highly educated talents has become a trend.
On the eve of July 1 this year, Lu Yuanjiu, at the age of 101, became the oldest recipient of the “July 1st Medal”, the party’s highest honor. This is the greatest affirmation of his noble spirit of caring for the motherland and serving the country with science and technology throughout his life. And that innocent heart that has traveled through a century has never changed.
Our reporter Gu Yekai Jiang Jianke
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