Marine Biologist
Degree: Ph.D. in Biology
Graduation year: 1942
Biography
Zeng, Chengkui (also C.K. Tseng and Zeng Cheng-Kui, courtesy name: Zenong [泽农]) called himself the son of ocean,[i] but he really is the Father of the Chinese Oceanography. [ii]
Read moreZeng was born in 1909 in Xiamen, Fujian. Unlike other Chinese Alumni who came to the University of Michigan after graduating from high schools, Zeng was already an established scholar in Marine Biology in China where he taught in several academic institutes such as Xiamen University and Shandong University.[iii] Zeng came to study at the University of Michigan in 1940, earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1942, and remained at University of Michigan for an additional year with a Rackham Postdoctoral Fellowship.[iv] Due to the destruction of communication and travel line between the U.S. in China during the Second World War, Zeng stayed in the U.S. where he directed several projects as the associated researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at U.S. San Diego.[v] Zeng returned to China at the end of 1946 where he served as Dean of the Department of Botany and Aquatics at Shandong University and deputy director of the Institute of Oceanography. The Institute of Oceanography was later reorganized into the Chinese Oceanographic Institute of the Academy of Sciences, where Zeng served as deputy director until early 1980s.[vi] Later he also was elected to be President of the International Phycology Society in 1980 and 1982.[vii] Zeng passed away at the age of 96 during his work.[viii]
Intellectual Influence
He continued to publish in both English and Chinese. His largest work in English, Oceanology of China Seas, co-authored with Di Zhou, spans two volumes and is a compilation of fifty-two papers covering the topics of physical oceanography, marine chemistry and biology, marine geology, coastal research, and marine physics and technology.[ix] It is a reference work for marine scientists and developers, academia, naval research establishments, and oil company geologists. Zeng’s works in Chinese are prolific and of a similar nature: specific research papers like The Economic of Algae of China [中国经济海藻志].[x] His hard works had led to the development of the Chinese marine biology, especially in seaweed cultivation, which had successfully provided the country a new source of food.[xi]
Publication Showcase
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Bibliography *Profile photo obtained from: Zeng, Chengkui. “Portrait of Zeng Cheng-Kui (Formally C.K. Tseng). Scripps Institution of Oceanography Photographs, University of California San Diego Library, San Diego, CA. [i]Xuechun Song, Chengyou Liu 宋学春 刘成友. Zeng Chengkui: 76 nian shu xie zhuang li de hai yang ren sheng 曾呈奎：76年书写壮丽的海洋人生. [Zeng Chengkui: 76 years devoted into composing a marvelous marine life] http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64093/64104/4525975.html. accessed: January 10th, 2017. [ii] Digital Collections. Protrait of Zeng Cheng-Kui. http://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb78850308. Accessed: January 10th, 2017 [iii] Hai Yang Da Xue Tang 海洋大学堂 [Ocean Academy]. Zhongguo Hai Dai Zhi Fu Zeng Chengkui Yuan Shi中国海带之父曾呈奎院士 [Father of Kelp in China: Zeng Chengkui, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences] http://web.ouc.edu.cn/hydxt/80/29/c6879a32809/page.htm. accessed: Jaunary 10 2017 [iv] Between the Devil and the Deep Sea: C. K. Tseng, Mariculture, and the Politics of Science in Modern China [v] Hai Yang Da Xue Tang 海洋大学堂 [Ocean Academy]. Zhongguo Hai Dai Zhi Fu Zeng Chengkui Yuan Shi中国海带之父曾呈奎院士 [Father of Kelp in China: Zeng Chengkui, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences] http://web.ouc.edu.cn/hydxt/80/29/c6879a32809/page.htm. accessed: Jaunary 10 2017 [vi] Hai Yang Da Xue Tang 海洋大学堂 [Ocean Academy]. Zhongguo Hai Dai Zhi Fu Zeng Chengkui Yuan Shi中国海带之父曾呈奎院士 [Father of Kelp in China: Zeng Chengkui, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences] http://web.ouc.edu.cn/hydxt/80/29/c6879a32809/page.htm. accessed: Jaunary 10 2017 [vii] Hai Yang Da Xue Tang 海洋大学堂 [Ocean Academy]. Zhongguo Hai Dai Zhi Fu Zeng Chengkui Yuan Shi中国海带之父曾呈奎院士 [Father of Kelp in China: Zeng Chengkui, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences] http://web.ouc.edu.cn/hydxt/80/29/c6879a32809/page.htm. accessed: Jaunary 10 2017 [viii] Xuechun Song, Chengyou Liu 宋学春 刘成友. Zeng Chengkui: 76 nian shu xie zhuang li de hai yang ren sheng 曾呈奎：76年书写壮丽的海洋人生. [Zeng Chengkui: 76 years devoted into composing a marvelous marine life] http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64093/64104/4525975.html. accessed: January 10th, 2017. [ix] Springer Link. Oceanology of China Sea. http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-94-011-0862-1. accessed: January 10 2017 [x]Zhongguo Guo Jia Tushu Guan 中国国家图书馆 [National Library of China]. Zhongguo Jingji Haizao Zhi中国经济海藻志 [The Economic of Algae of China] http://find.nlc.cn/search/showDocDetails?docId=-4401732199886799672&dataSource=ucs01&query=%E6%9B%BE%E5%91%88%E5%A5%8E. accessed: January 10 2017 [xi] Between the Devil and the Deep Sea: C. K. Tseng, Mariculture, and the Politics of Science in Modern China
