'Steel Academician' Cui Kun passes away aged 101 in Wuhan

Cui Kun, a prominent Chinese metal materials expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, died on Friday in Wuhan, Hubei province, at the age of 101, Huazhong University of Science and Technology said. He was dubbed the "Steel Academician" for his pioneering work in mold steel research.

Cui passed away at 10:26 am at a hospital in Wuhan after unsuccessful medical treatment, according to an obituary issued by the university, where he was a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

Born in July 1925 in Jinan, Shandong province, Cui graduated from Wuhan University in 1948 and remained there as a teaching assistant. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1956 and was transferred to the Huazhong Institute of Technology — now HUST — the same year.

He was promoted to professor in 1978, became one of the country's first doctoral supervisors in 1981, and was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1997.

Cui spent decades in mold steel research, a field in which he was regarded as a founder and pioneer in China. His work helped the country's steel industry break free from foreign technological bottlenecks and achieve self-reliance.

In his 80s, Cui spent seven years writing a two-million-character academic monograph on the composition, microstructure and properties of steel, which was published in 2013 and is widely regarded as an encyclopedia in the field of steel materials.

Living frugally — he wore the same shirt for three decades — Cui and his wife Zhu Huinan donated their life savings to establish scholarships at the university, helping more than 1,000 financially disadvantaged students complete their education.

"Cui's passing is a significant loss to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, to China's materials science community, and to the country's higher education sector," the university's obituary said.