Tsien Hsue-shen, the father of the Chinese nuclear missile and space program, died yesterday. He studied mechanics under von Karman. Together, they wrote papers on the buckling of cylindrical shells. A poignant biography of Tsien was written by Iris Chang.
Deep sorrow for the great
Deep sorrow for the great loss. Some links from Caltech about Tsien's pass away and his unusual life.
http://today.caltech.edu/today/story-display?story_id=39604
http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/v36/tsien.html
Li Han