Institute of Mathematics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang Qiming (simplified Chinese: 王启明; traditional Chinese: 王啓明; pinyin: Wáng Qǐmíng; June 4, 1941 [1]– April 7, 1989) was a Chinese mathematician who was known for his work in differential geometry. He was considered as one of the best differential geometers in China of the time.
After the institute had recovered in early 1970s from the disruption of the Cultural Revolution, Wang worked intensely in differential geometry and topology.[3]
Wang was a senior researcher of the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of its academic committee and the person in charge of graduate student affairs. Wang had also been the acting deputy director of the institute. Since 1988, Wang had been the deputy editor-in-chief of the Chinese mathematics journal 数学进展 (Advances in Mathematics (China)). He was a committee member of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy.[3]
Death
On April 7, 1989, Wang was killed in a car accident. He was a passenger in a car whose driver was Shing-Tung Yau, and the accident occurred when Yau was making a turn. Wang had just arrived in the United States the day before[1] and planned to visit Harvard University for several months. He would likely have become the director of the Institute of Mathematics had he returned to China after this visit. His teacher Wu Wenjun thought that Wang would certainly have been a leader of Chinese mathematics if the accident had not had happened.[2][6] A memorial service was held in Beijing on July 20 that year. [3]