Liang Sili

Liang Sili was a Chinese aerospace engineer who played an important role in the design of the Dongfeng 2A missile, the Dongfeng 5 missile, the Long March 2 rocket, and the Long March 3 rocket. He was also a leader and pioneer in the field of missile and rocket control systems, and made significant contributions to China's aerospace cause. He was elected an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics in 1987 and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993. He became the vice-president of the International Astronautical Federation in 1994. He was the youngest son of Chinese scholar and reformist Liang Qichao, and his elder brothers, Liang Sicheng and Liang Siyong, were also academicians. He graduated from Purdue University in 1945, majoring in Electrical Engineering, and earned his doctor's degree in automation control from the University of Cincinnati in 1949. He returned to China in late 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China. He worked at the Institute of Telecommunications Technology, the Institute of Electronic Science, and the Fifth Institute of Ministry of Defense. He was the deputy director of the Research Office of Missile Control Systems, working under Qian Xuesen. He received many awards and honors for his achievements, such as the Two Bombs and One Satellite Merit Medal, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize. He died of illness on 14 April 2016, at the age of 91, in Beijing.