Caltech mourns death of Qian Xuesen

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on Monday paid tribute to renowned Chinese scientist Qian Xuesen, who died age 98 on Oct. 31.

Qian, PhD'39, was a Caltech alumnus and one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech said in a statement.

It said Qian worked for the U.S. military on advanced rocket projects and had been commended by the U.S. Air Force for his contributions to its technological development after World War II. But in 1950, the Chinese-born scientist was accused of harboring Communist sympathies and stripped of his security clearance.

No evidence was produced to substantiate the allegations and Qian and his colleagues in academia, government, and industry protested that they were nonsense, said the statement.

"Nonetheless, the INS placed him under a delayed deportation order, and for the next five years he and his family lived under U.S. government surveillance and partial house arrest," it said.

In September 1955, Qian and his family were permitted to leave for China, where Qian resumed his research, founded the Institute of Mechanics, and became the father of China's missile program, and the nation's most honored scientist, according to the statement.