SHI Changxu, one of the pioneers in the development of superalloys in China, passed away at the age of 96 on November, 10 in Beijing. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Professor SHI Changxu, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Image by CAS)

Professor SHI was born in 1918 in Hebei province in the central part of China. He got his Doctor's degree from University of Notre Dame in 1952, and then worked at MIT(1952-1955) as an research associate under professor Morris Cohen on high strength steel and martensitic transformation.

He returned to China in July of 1955 and had been working at Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang for about 30 years. He is one of the pioneers for the development of superalloys in China. His research group developed the first generation of air cooled casting nickel-base superalloy turbine blades in China, developed the first iron-nickel base superalloy and hot-corrosion resistant casingt nickel-base superalloy, and invented technology of low segregation superalloy. He has emphasized the industrialization of their research achievements and made contributions to the production of superalloys in China.

SHI was elected as member of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980, member of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1994, fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences in 1995. As a founding member, he was elected as vice president of Chinese Academy of Engineering (1994-1998). 

He was the chief-editor of five academic journals, such as Journal of Materials Science &Technology, Acta metallurgica Sinica, and the Honorary President of Chinese Materials Research Society (C-MRS), honorary members of Japan Society for Metals and Japanese Materials Research Society (MRS-J), fellow of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) of USA.

Professor SHI had won about 10 state-level academic prizes, including China's State Top Scientific and Technological Awards in 2010. He also won an international innovation award for real materials in 1997 due to invention of technology of low segregation superalloys.