Coching Chu

Who was Coching Chu?

Coching Chu or Zhu Kezhen was a prominent Chinese meteorologist, geologist and educator.

Born in Shangyu, Zhejiang, Chu went to United States for further education in 1910. He graduated from College of Agriculture, University of Illinois in 1913. Five years later, he received a Ph.D. in meteorology from Harvard University. From 1920 to 1929, he was chairperson of Department of Meteorology, Nanjing University. From 1929 to 1936 he served as director of Chinese Institute of Meteorology, Academia Sinica. From 1936 to 1949, he served as president of National Chekiang University and elevated it to one of the best universities in China. He was assigned vice president of Chinese Academy of Sciences on 16 October 1949. In 1955, he was elected academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences.