Huang, Su-Shu, 1915-....

Su-Shu Huang was born in Chiangshu, Kiangshu Province, China, on April 26, 1915. He earned his B.S. degree in Physics at Chekiang University in 1937, his M.S. (Physics) at Tsing Hua University in 1943, and his Ph.D. (Astrophysics) at the University of Chicago in 1949.

Huang lectured in physics at Tsing Hua University from 1943 to 1947. Between 1949 and 1951 he was an instructor at the University of Chicago. From 1951 to 1959 he served as an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley. Huang received a Guggenheim Fellowship for 1951-1952. From 1959 to 1963 he worked as a research astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1960-1961. In 1963-1964 Huang was professor of astrophysics at the Catholic University of America. Although he officially joined the faculty of Northwestern University in 1964, as professor of physics and astronomy, he remained at Goddard for the 1964-1965 academic year on leave of absence from Northwestern.

Working first on the continuous absorption coefficient in two-electron systems Huang later turned to the effects of turbulence in stellar atmospheres and radiative transfer methods. Rotating stars and binary stars occupied his attention for many years. He also became interested in the problem of the possibility of life on planets of other stars in the Milky Way galaxy and it was this interest that brought coverage of Huang and his work in many newspapers and popular magazines.

Huang never married. He became a U.S. citizen on February 20, 1959. He became a U.S. citizen on February 20, 1959. He returned twice to China, in 1974 and in 1977. He died of a heart attack in Beijing on September 15, 1977.

From the guide to the Su-Shu Huang (1915-1977) Papers, 1944-1980, (Northwestern University Archives)