In 1947, Du went to study in the United States. He entered Stanford University and majored in solid state physics. In June 1948, Du obtained a master's degree of aeronautic engineering from Stanford. In September 1948, Du turned to Harvard University and studied hydrodynamics under the academic advice of Richard von Mises. In June 1949, Du earned another master of aeronautics from Harvard. In September 1949, Du went back to Stanford and did research on aeronautic light structure with Stephen Timoshenko and Goodier. He received his doctorate in April 1951.
In June 1951, Du went back to China and taught at Peking University. In 1952, Du was transferred to Tsinghua University and became a teaching and research leader of mechanics. In 1958, Du was one of the founders of the Department of Engineering Mechanics of Tsinghua University. From 1983 to 1987, Du was also a part-time professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi'an Jiao Tong University, and Zhejiang University, and he was an honorary professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.[2]
Du was a founder of Chinese modern aeronautic and astronautic material engineering. He was also a founder of the teaching and research of mechanics and material engineering at Tsinghua University. In 1997, Du was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).[3]
Works
Du wrote more than 130 papers and also several popular textbooks and handbooks, including:[4]
