China Vitae

Biography

Song Jian, male, Han nationality, is a native of Rongcheng, Shandong Province. He graduated from Moscow Baoman High Institute of Technology in 1958, obtaining an engineering degree. Two years later, in 1960, he graduated from the Mechanics and Mathematics Department of Moscow University. The same year, Song graduated from Baoman Institute as a senior engineer and obtained an assistant doctoratedegree and then a science doctorate degree. He holds the title of cybernetist.

A former president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Song served as a researcher for the China Aviation Industry Corporation and director for the State Science and Technology Committee. He was also a member of the State Council. In 1960, he won acclaim for accomplishments in the aspect of optimized control theory. Later research focused on distribution parameter control theory.

In the 1970s, he revised and extended a book "Engineering Cybernetics" which was written by Qian Xuesen. His contributions to the book were recognized as advancing the development of control theory. In the next decade, he established a new discipline, called "Population Control Theory," which combined natural science with social science and led to controlling population problems in China and other developing countries. Song also contributed to the control system design of several models of missiles (including antiballistic missiles). He helped organize and lead the launch and positioning of communication satellites.

In the 1990s, he initiated the Xia-Shang-Zhou Generation Breaking Project. This project focused on research of ancient Chinese history.

Song was elected as an academician to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991.