China Vitae

Biography

Wang, Daheng, male, Han nationality, is a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was born in Tokyo, Japan and graduated from Tsinghua University in 1936.

An applied opticist, Wang was a researcher and superintendent of the Changchun Optical Precision Machinery Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is noted for his role in modernizing China's national defense by developing several large-scale optical observatory equipment.

In the 1950s, Wang founded the instrument museum at the Chinese Academy of Sciences , which later became the Changchun Optical Precision Machinery Research Institute. At the institute, he became a prolific inventor. Wang is credited with developing the first worm optical glass, the first electronic microscope, and the first laser device. Under his direction, the institute became an internationally-recognized research facility.

Working with Wang Ganchang, Cheng Fangyun, and Yang Jiachi, Wang proposed a theory of developing high technology (also known as the 863 program) in 1986. Teaming with Wang Ganchang again, he pushed for the construction of key equipment for fusion activities. In 1992, he joined with five other academic commissaries to advocate for the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Wang is the winner of the Two Bombs and One Star Meritorious Medal.

He was elected as an academician to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955.