Zhengdao Chen named a Compton Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis

2013 Aug 16

Zhengdao Chen of Beijing, China (00000), has been named an Arthur Holly Compton Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. Chen, a 2013 graduate of Beijing No 8 High School, will be a freshman in the university's College of Arts & Sciences when the fall semester begins Aug. 27.

The scholarship is awarded to incoming students enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences who plan to pursue undergraduate majors in earth and planetary sciences, environmental studies, mathematics or physics. The program offers full- and partial-tuition scholarships renewable for four years. Tuition for the 2013-14 academic year is $44,100.

Chen is one of two incoming students to receive the Compton scholarship this year.

The scholarship is named after the late Arthur Holly Compton, chancellor of the university from 1945 until 1953 and the Wayman Crow Professor of Physics and chair of the physics department in Arts & Sciences from 1919-1923.

During his four years as a faculty member, Compton investigated the dual nature of X-rays. He noticed that an X-ray, or radiation, which has the same wave properties as visible light, also behaves like a particle. This became known as the "Compton effect." This work later earned him the 1927 Nobel Prize for physics.

Compton's career was marked by an extraordinary range of accomplishments in physics, higher education, wartime scientific research and efforts to improve human and international relations.

In 1941, Compton was appointed chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Committee to Evaluate Use of Atomic Energy in War. Throughout World War II, Compton also played an important role in the general planning of the atom bomb project, including the setup of the laboratory at Los Alamos, N.M., and in reaching the military-political decisions about the use of bombs in Japan. He gave a personal account of these matters in his book, Atomic Quest (1956).

About Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University is counted among the world's leaders in teaching and research, and it draws students and faculty to St. Louis from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. The total student body is nearly 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

The approximately 3,400 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Brown School, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law and School of Medicine. Twenty-three Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, with nine doing the major portion of their pioneering research there.

The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.