Chu Coching

Coching Chu or Zhu Kezhen (simplified Chinese: 竺可桢; traditional Chinese: 竺可楨; pinyin: Zhú Kězhēn; Wade–Giles: Chu K'o-chen; 7 March 1890 – 7 February 1974) was a Chinese geologist and meteorologist.

Coching Chu 竺可楨
Coching Chu
Born	March 7, 1890 Shangyu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
Died	February 7, 1974 (aged 83) Beijing, China
Nationality	Chinese
Alma mater	Fudan University University of Illinois (BSc) Harvard University (PhD)
Scientific career
Fields	Meteorology Geology
Institutions	National Southeast University National Chekiang University Academia Sinica Chinese Academy of Sciences
Thesis	A New Classification of Typhoons of the Far East (1924)

Former residence of Coching Chu in Nanjing.

Born in Shangyu, Zhejiang, Chu went to United States for his college education in 1910. He graduated from the College of Agriculture, University of Illinois in 1913. In 1918, he received his Ph.D. in meteorology from Harvard University.

From 1920 to 1929, he was chairperson of Department of Meteorology, Nanjing University (formerly known as the Nanking Higher Normal School, National Southeastern University, and National Central University).

From 1929 to 1936 he served as director of the Chinese Institute of Meteorology of the Academia Sinica, which at the time was located in mainland China. Academia Sinica later became the predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China on mainland China and the Academia Sinica of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

From 1936 to 1949, he served as the president of National Chekiang University (now known as Zhejiang University) and elevated the institution to one of the most prestigious universities in China. During that time, he sent manuscripts relating to the history of Chinese science to Joseph Needham in England.

On 16 October 1949, he was assigned to the position of vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 1955, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Academic papers

• Some Chinese Contributions to Meteorology Geographical Review: Vol. 5, No. 2. (Feb., 1918), pp. 136–139.
• A New Classification of Typhoons of the Far East Monthly Weather Review: Vol. 52, No. 12. (Dec., 1924), pp. 570–579.
• The Place of Origin and Recurvature of Typhoons Monthly Weather Review: Vol. 53, No. 1 (Jan., 1925), pp. 1–5.
• The Complete Works of Coching Chu Shanghai Scientific & Technological Education Publishing House

Further reading

• Zuoyue, Wang (1970–1980). "Zhu Kezhen". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 25. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 402–405. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.