Peng Shilu

Peng Shilu (Chinese: 彭士禄; born November 18, 1925[1]) is a Chinese nuclear engineer. Known as "the father of China's nuclear submarines"[2][3][4] and the "father of China's naval nuclear propulsion",[5] he was the first chief designer of the country's nuclear submarine project, directing his team to build China's first generation of nuclear submarines (Type 091 and Type 092).[2][1][3][5][4] He was also the main designer for China's first nuclear power plants, and is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He served as vice minister for China's Sixth Ministry of Machine Building (Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry) and Ministry of Hydropower.[2][1][3][6][7]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Peng.
Peng Shilu
Born (1925-11-18) 18 November 1925
Haifeng County, Guangdong, China
Alma materMoscow Power Engineering Institute, Beijing Institute of Technology
Known forDesigning China's first generation of nuclear submarines
Developing China's first nuclear power plants
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear submarine design
Nuclear power plant design
InstitutionsChina National Nuclear Corporation
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese彭士禄
Traditional Chinese彭士祿

Biography
In 1933, Peng Shilu was jailed at the age of 8 for being the son of Peng Pai. The photo was taken by the Kuomintang authorities when he was arrested.[8]

Peng Shilu was born on November 18, 1925 in Haifeng County, Guangdong province, the son of Peng Pai, a top Chinese Communist revolutionary in the 1920s.[9] His parents were killed by the Kuomintang government when he was less than 4 years old, and he was jailed at the age of 8 for being the son of Peng Pai.[3][8] He was later rescued by his grandmother and sent to Yan'an by Zhou Enlai.[10] In the 1940s he received his early training in Yan'an Institute of Natural Sciences[4] (now Beijing Institute of Technology).

After 1949, he went to the Soviet Union to complete advanced studies in nuclear science at Moscow Power Engineering Institute. When he returned to China, he was appointed to a senior post conducting research on the submarine nuclear reactor.[9] In 1959, the Soviet Union refused to provide assistance for China's planned project of building nuclear-powered submarines, and Mao Zedong proclaimed that China would build its own nuclear submarines "even if it takes 10,000 years". Peng oversaw the entire nuclear submarine project and set about developing a workable nuclear power plant.[4]

In 1968, Peng proposed and led the building of a land-based prototype nuclear power reactor in Sichuan province for China's first nuclear submarine. This reactor was completed on April 1970 and successfully passed a test in July after Peng reported to the Central Special Commission led by Premier Zhou Enlai.[9][11][10] In 1973, Peng was appointed vice president of China Ship Research and Design Institute (Wuhan-based 719 Research Institute, the Nuclear Submarine Institute), and afterwards became vice minister of the Sixth Ministry of Machine Building.[2][4]

China's first nuclear submarine (SSN), the Long March I of class 091, was commissioned in 1974,[12] making China the fifth country to own a nuclear submarine after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France.[13] The first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) of class 092 was completed and commissioned in 1981.[14] Both type 091 and 092 submarines were equipped with the nuclear reactors and propulsion systems created by Peng and his team.[5] In 1979, Peng was appointed the first chief designer of China's nuclear submarine project, while Huang Xuhua, Zhao Renkai (赵仁恺), and Huang Weilu (黄纬禄) were appointed as deputies.[15]

In 1983, Peng shifted from military to civilian application of nuclear power plants when he was appointed as vice minister for the Ministry of Hydropower, and was also appointed general engineer in the Ministry of Nuclear Industry.[4][10] He led his team to build the Daya Bay and Qinshan Nuclear Power Plants.[10]

Awards and honors

Peng received the National Science Conference Award in 1978, the top prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Awards in 1985, the Science and Technology Progress Award from Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation in 1996, and the Top Scientific Achievement Award from Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation in 2017.

In 1988 he received the honorary title of "Outstanding Contribution to National Defense Science and Technology" from the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

In 2020, he won the 13th Guanghua Engineering Scientific and Technological Achievement Award for "his outstanding contributions to China's nuclear submarine to achieve a historic breakthrough from nothing, and the determination of technical route of the first nuclear power plant." Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award is the highest award in China's engineering field, and initiated and managed by the Chinese Academy of Engineering.[1][6][7][16][17]

Personal life

Peng's wife, Ma Shuying (马淑英), was his schoolmate in the Soviet Union, and they married in 1958 when they returned to China. They have a son and a daughter.[18]

References
  1. "Peng Shilu". www.cae.cn. Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  2. "Peng Shilu the father of China's nuclear submarine: the pioneer of China' nuclear power caurse (中国核潜艇之父彭士禄：中国核动力事业的拓荒牛)". www.mod.gov.cn (in Chinese). Beijing, China: Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国国防部. February 18, 2014.
  3. "The Founding Father of China's Nuclear Submarines and Nuclear Plants: Peng Shilu". Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Chinese Academy of Engineering.
  4. Sullivan, Lawrence R.; Liu, Nancy Y. (2015). Historical Dictionary of Science and Technology in Modern China. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 322–3. ISBN 978-0-8108-7855-6.
  5. Erickson, Andrew S & Goldstein, Lyle J (Winter 2007). "China's Future Nuclear Submarine Force — Insights from Chinese Writings" (PDF). Naval War College Review. Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Naval War College. 60 (1): 55–79. ISSN 0028-1484.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "Peng Shilu receives top scientific achievement award". CNNC. October 25, 2017.
  7. CNNC (October 26, 2017). "Peng Shilu received top scientific achievement award from Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation". www.cnnc.com.cn (in Chinese). Beijing, China: CNNC.
  8. Li, Shuya (March 7, 2013). "Peng Shilu, the life propelled by nuclear propulsion (彭士禄："核动力"驱动的人生)". www.chinapictorial.com.cn (in Chinese). Beijing. China: China Pictorial. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  9. Lewis, John Wilson; Xue, Litai (1996). China's Strategic Seapower: The Politics of Force Modernization in the Nuclear Age. Stanford University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8047-2804-1.
  10. Guo (郭), Xinying (新英). "The "father of China's nuclear submarines" Peng Shilu". People's Daily (in Chinese).
  11. Ningjun Fu (1998). "Peng Shilu and China's Nuclear Submarine". Yanhuang Chunqiu (1): 23–26.
  12. The Federation of American Scientists & The Natural Resources Defense Council Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning p. 86
  13. Yu Xiaoquan and Huang Chao (July 22, 2017). "The first submarine: 'Build our own nuclear submarines, even if it would take 10,000 years!'". www.xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Beijing, China: XINHUANET.
  14. "Type 092 Xia Class SSBN". www.globalsecurity.org. Alexandria, VA 22314, USA: Globalsecurity.org.CS1 maint: location (link)
  15. "The achievements of CNNC during the year 2017". www.china5e.com (in Chinese). 中国能源网.
  16. "第十三届光华工程科技奖揭晓 (The 13th Guanghua Engineering Technology Award announced)". news.sciencenet.cn (in Chinese). 科学网. 中国科学报社. November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  17. "中国工程界最高奖获奖人员名单揭晓 (The list of winners of "The Highest Award in China's Engineering Field" announced)". finance.sina.com.cn. Sina Corporation. November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  18. Yu (余), Xiaoie (晓洁). "Academcian Peng Shilu, The founding father of China's nuclear submarine and power plant". Phoenix News (in Chinese).
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