Scholarship honors Tsung-Chi Tsu

An ASME scholarship has been established in memory of long-time ASME member Tsung-Chi Tsu, who died in March. A recipient will be chosen from among young scholars who are residents of the People's Republic of China and wish to study engineering in the United States.

The form of the scholarship was suggested by Tsu's history, which was relayed to ASME NEWS by his daughter, Susan Tsu.

Born and raised in China, Tsu received a B.S. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1937 and, upon winning a scholarship to study abroad, was admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1941. His doctoral thesis focused on increasing the effectiveness of pistons in reciprocating engines and he was the first person to prove his thesis on MIT's first computer. His early work contributed to the U. S. Navy's efforts in World War II.

During his career Tsu was a consulting engineer for the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp., on the faculty of Penn State, with the Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division and, from 1954 until his retirement in 1982, was a research and advisory engineer at the Westinghouse Research Lab.

His published papers include "Thermodynamic Properties of Compressed Water," used by nuclear and mechanical engineers worldwide; "Interplanetary Travel by Solar Sail," regarded by many as a seminal work in solar sail technology; and, from 1959 to 1979, a series on magnetohydrodynamic power generation that provided guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy. Tsu was an ASME member for 54 years.

The Tsu family and the ASME Foundation are currently reviewing the administration of the scholarship fund. Additional contributions, which would make the Tsung-Chi Tsu Scholarship an annual award, may be sent to the ASME Foundation, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990.

For additional information, contact David Soukup at soukupd@asme.org.

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