sun jia dong, doctor of engineering honoris causa
prof. sun jia dong is now in his eighties, yet he is the youngest scientist to hold the title of a meritorious contributor to the “atomic bomb，hydrogen bomb and artificial satellite”. he is also the latest winner of the top national science and technology award. he has devoted himself to this field for more than sixty years, yet the cause which he is leading is of eternal youth. the legendary achievements of this chinese aerospace hero are best embodied in three words, “early”, “abundant”, and “long-lasting”.
first, he led the development of china’s first missile, first artificial earth satellite, first remote sensing satellite, first recoverable satellite and numerous other aerospace vehicles. these countless “firsts” bear witness to his pioneering footprint.
second, years of devotion have borne abundant fruit. on april 15th, 2009, when china successfully launched the compass navigation satellite, people were awed to find that academician sun served as the chief technology officer for 34 out of 100 spacecraft which were independently developed by china. this demonstrates that the development of one third of china’s spacecraft is imbued with his painstaking efforts.
last but by no means least, his career is also long-lasting. he joined the development of china’s missiles before he was thirty. even in his seventies, he was appointed chief designer of china’s lunar probe program. “i’ve spent my whole life in aerospace. i’ll never leave it”, as he once said. mr. qian xuesen, a leading figure in china’s space industry, commented: “your decades of contribution to china’s aerospace development are so outstanding that our country will never forget you, neither will the chinese people”!
honorable and beloved prof. sun, the honorary doctorate of must, we are so proud of you. we wish you happiness and health for ever!