Giants in History: Lin Lanying

Lin Lanying (7 February 1918 – 4 March 2003) was a Chinese material engineer remembered for her contributions to the field of semiconductor and aerospace materials. Lanying was born into a family who did not believe in educating girls and she was not allowed to go to school. Despite her family’s objections, Lin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Fukien Christian University. She earned another Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Dickinson College and received a PhD in solid-state physics at the University of Pennsylvania. Lin was the first in China to synthesize the crystals of several aerospace and semiconductor materials, including mono-crystalline germanium which led to the development of transistor radios. Her research laid the foundation for the development of micro-electronics and optoelectronics in China. For her contributions to the field, Lin was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and became the vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology. Lin is known as the mother of aerospace and semiconductor materials in China.