Chinese meteorologist honored

A memorial hall was opened in Anqing, Anhui province, on Saturday in honor of scientist Ye Duzheng, one of the founders of modern atmospheric science in China.

Ye, who died in 2013 at the age of 98, was a senior academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was one of two winners of the National Top Science and Technology Award in 2005, a three-time winner of the National Natural Sciences Award and the first Chinese laureate to win the International Meteorological Organization Prize in 2003.

The weather forecast we check on a daily basis is accurate largely thanks to Ye's contribution to the science of meteorology over more than 60 years.

The Ye family traces its roots to Anqing, though the scientist himself was born in Tianjin in 1916, when China began keeping modern meteorological records.

Persuaded by Qian Sanqiang, who later became China's founding father of nuclear physics, Ye changed his major in 1935 from physics to meteorology at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

He later went to the University of Chicago in the United States and received his doctorate under the guidance of Carl-Gustaf Rossby, the celebrated Swedish-American meteorologist.

Ye returned to China in 1950 and since then logged many scientific achievements, including establishing a team of 10 people to draw the country's first weather map.

"Ye was also the first scientist in China who raised the problem of climate change," said Li Chongyin, a meteorologist and a senior CAS academician.

The 1,200-square-meter memorial hall, built in the Ye family temple, includes exhibitions of Ye's life and exhibits on meteorological science.

The ancient building is the only existing family temple in the urban area of Anqing and has been listed as a protected cultural relic.

"Through this memorial hall, his love for the country and dedication to science can inspire more people," said Ye Weijiang, the son of Ye Duzheng. The younger Ye is also a scientist.