Revolutionary hero transformed electronics

2022/7/30 12:20:20

Sun Junren (1915-2001), a founder and pioneer of China's military electronics research and education, was a Songjiang native born near Xiuye Bridge.

Sun was a graduate of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, majoring in electronic communication.

When the Japanese invaders seized Shanghai in mid-November 1937, Sun and three classmates headed for Nanjing, capital of the Republic of China (1912-1949), to help defend the motherland.

They stopped over in Wuhan City. Guided by the Communist Party's Eighth Route Army Wuhan Office, the four made their way to Xi'an City and later to Yan'an, a revolutionary base of the Party, in January 1938. They soon joined the Party.

Sun showed his talent in education when he was teaching at the Yan'an Electronic Communication School.

For the sake of his students with uneven education levels, he compiled textbooks, self-made educational tools and explained the basics of wireless communication through demonstrations and experiments.

He made friends with his worker, farmer and soldier students and gradually enlightened them on scientific exploration.

Many of his students became commanders of the Chinese army's communications units, or made great contributions to the nation's military communications or national defense.

Sun was appointed deputy dean of the Tenth Research Institute, serving top national defense projects.

Within six years, he had expanded the institute into 30 more organizations including some focusing on vacuum electronics, semiconductor integrated circuits, radar and electronic countermeasure research.

The institute's research helped with the country's first nuclear test, missile test, and monitoring the fall of US and Soviet satellites.

Sun also strongly promoted sci-tech cooperation between the institute and colleges and universities.

His tenure as a leading electronic communications researcher was suspended during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976).

But as soon as his health improved, he was reappointed as a sci-tech education minister and helped with resuming a research and academic system severely hit by the "cultural revolution."

From the 1980s he pushed hard for academic exchanges between domestic and foreign institutes.

Source: SHINE   Editor: Su Yanxian