Lu was born in Chu County, Anhui, on 9 January 1920.[1][2] His father was a teacher. He attended the Anhui Provincial No. 8 Middle School and Jiangsu Provincial Nanjing High School, and in November 1937 was accepted to the National Central University.[1] That same year, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied north China and he escaped to Chongqing, where his university had relocated.[2] In 1945, he pursued advanced studies in the United States on government scholarships.[2] He earned his doctor's degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of C. S. Dreber.[1][2] After graduation, he became an associate research fellow at the institute.[2] In January 1954, he joined a scientific laboratory at Ford Motor Company as an engineer.[2]
Lu returned to China in 1956, and that same year became vice dean of the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences.[2] In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, and during this period Lu was criticized, deprived of all his work, and forced to perform farm work at the May Seventh Cadre Schools.[2] He moved to the 520th Research Institute of National Central University in January 1968[citation needed], and was promoted to director of the 13th Research Institute in January 1978.[2] In January 1984, he became a member of the Standing Committee of Science and Technology Committee of Ministry of Astronautics Industry.
^ abcMao Han (毛菡) (5 November 2018). 陆元九：我国著名的陀螺、惯性导航及自动控制专家 [Lu Yuanjiu: China's famous expert in gyroscope, inertial navigation system and Automation]. xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
^ abcdefghi“口述历史”系列访谈--两院院士陆元九 [A series of interviews on oral history: Lu Yuanjiu, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering]. sina (in Chinese). 8 April 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
