A picture of Feng Kang taken at Cambridge
Graduate: Steklov Mathematical Institute, Moscow, under L.S. Pontrjagin, 1951--53.
1951--56, Research Associate/Associate Professor, Academia Sinica Institute of Mathematics.
1956--78, Associate Professor/Professor, Academia Sinica Institute of Computer Technology.
1978--86, Director & Professor, Academia Sinica Computing Center; Hon. Dir. 1987--93
1980--93, Member of Academia Sinica.
1991--93, Leading Scientist, China State Key Project for Basic Research: Large-scale Scientific (1991--93,} Computing.
1992--93, Chair, Scientific Committee, State Key Laboratory for Scientific Computing.
Vice-President, Chinese Computer Society, 1978--86.
Member of Founding Council, Intern. Association of Computational Mechanics, 1982--86.
Member, International Society for Interaction of Mechanics & Mathematics, 1988--93;
Scientific Advisory Board, International Center for Mathematical Sciences, Edinburgh, 1991--93
Honorary Professor of Mathematics: Xi-an Jiaotong Univ., 1985--93; Nanjing Univ., 1991--93
Chief Editor: ``Chinese Journal of Numerical Mathematics & Applications'' (Allerton Press),
(Chief Editor:} ``Journal of Computational Mathematics'' (VSP, the Netherlands), etc
Member of Editorial Board:
``Journal of Computational Physics'' (1982--89, Acad. Press)
``Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics & Engineering'' (North-Holland).
``Impact of Computing in Science & Engineering'' (Acad. Press), etc.
(presence prevented by circumstances, paper published in Proc.)
Cochair (with J.L. Lions), China-France Symp. on Finite Element Method, Beijing, 1983.
Chair, 5th Inter. Symp. on Diff. Geometry & Diff. Eqs (initiated by S.S. Chern), Beijing, 1984.
Inaugural Speaker, 10th Inter. Conf. on Num. Methods in Fluid Dynamics, Beijing, 1986.
Invited Speaker, Conference in Honor of J.L. Lions, Paris, 1988.
Keynote Speaker, IMACS 13th World Congress on Comput. & Appl. Math, Dublin, 1991. Etc.
Hamiltonian systems & symplectic algorithms, geometric and Lie algebra-Lie group approach for algorithms of equations of mathematical physics.
Kang Feng was enrolled to Department of Mathematics and Physics of Hujian Xiehe College in spring 1939. In autumn 1939 he was admited to Department of Electrical Engineering of the National Central University in Chongqin, later he was transfered to the Department of Physics where he studied until his graduation in 1944. From 1945 to 1951, he worked as assistant lecturer at Department of Physics of Fudan University, Department of Physics and Department of Mathematics of Hsinghua University. In 1951 he was appointed as assistant professor at Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1951 to 1953 he worked at Steklov Mathematical Institute in Moscow, under the supervision of Professor L.S. Pontrjagin. In 1957, he was elected as an associate professor at Institute of Computer Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he began his work on computational mathmatics and became the founder and leader of computational mathematics and scientific computing in China. In 1978, he was appointed as the first Director of the newly founded Computing Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences until 1987 when he became the Horanary Director of the Computing Center. Professor Feng worked very hard, obtained many important results. He was well respected and highly praised by scientists in China and abroad. In 1959 he was elected as one of the National Outstanding Scientists. In 1965 he was elected as a member of the National People's Congress of China. In 1979 he was elected as one of the National Model Workers. In 1980 he was elected as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was the vice president of Chinese Computer Society (78--86), president (85--90) and honorary president(90--93) of Chinese Society of Computational Mathematics, member of the Founding Council of International Association of Computational Mechanics (82--86), member of International Society for Interaction of Mechanics \& Mathematics (88--93), member of the Scientific Advisory Board if International Center for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh (91--93). He was the chief editor of ``Chinese Journal of Numerical Mathematics \& Applications'' (Allerton Press), ``Journal of Computational Mathematics'' (VSP, the Netherlands), ``Computational Mathematics'' [in Chinese] (Chinese Academical Press, Beijing) and ``Numerical Computations and Applications of Computer'' [in Chinese] (Chinese Academical Press, Beijing). He was a member of Editorial Board of ``Journal of Computational Physics'' (Academical Press), ``Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics \& Engineering'' (North-Holland), ``Impact of Computing in Science \& Engineering'' (Academical Press), etc. He was one of the vice editors of Chinese Encyclopaedia (Mathematics Section). He was the leading Scientist of China State Key Project for Basic Research: ``Large-scale Scientific and Engineering Computing'' (91--93), and the chairman of the Scientific Committee of the State Key Laboratory for Scientific Computing (92--93).
Professor Feng's scientific contributions are outstanding and range many fields. Before 1957 he mainly worked on pure mathematics, specially on Topological groups, Lie groups and generalized function theory. From 1957 he changed to applied mathematics and computational mathematics. Because his sound and broad knowledge in mathematics and physics, he did a series of historical and pioneer research on computational mathematics.
In the later 50s and early 60s, based on his research on the computations on dam constructions, Professor Feng proposed a systematic numerical method for solving partical differential equations. The method was called ``Finite difference method based on variation principle''. This method was also independently invented in the west, calling ``finite element method''. Now it is regarded that the invention of finite element method is a milestone of computational mathematics.
In 70s, Professor Feng gave embedding theories in the discontinuous finite element space, and generalized classical theories on elliptic equation to various dimensional combination, which provided mathematical foundation for elastic combination structures.
Also in the 70s, he made great efforts and contributions in reducing elliptic equation to boundary integral equation. He gave natural boundary element method, which is now one of three main boundary element methods. From 1978, he had been given lectures and seminars on finite elements and natural boundary elements in more than ten universities and institutes in France, Italy, Japan. USA, and was highly praised.
From 1984, Professor Feng changed his research field from elliptic equation to dynamics systems such as Hamiltonian systems and wave equations. He proposed symplectic algorithms for Hamiltonian systems. These algorithms are based on symplectic geometry, and they are structure reserving algorithms.
Because of his outstanding scientific contributions, he was awarded Second Prize of National Natural Science Award, Second Prize of National Technology Advances, First Prize of Natural Science Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Besides his scientific researches, Professor Feng had many administration matters. He spent a lot of time to supervise students. Early in 60s, he lectured over 200 people morden computational methods and supervised their researches. Now many of these people are leading computational mathematicians in China. Professor Feng made great efforts in educating young people. His students are now all over the world, some of them are already very famous in the world.
Professor Feng paid much attention to the development of computational mathematics in China, he gave many important opinions. He wrote to the leaders of the Chinese government, suggested that scientific and engineering computing should be stressed, and proposed that scientific computing be as one key basic research project in China. He played and inreplacable role in the development of scientific and engineering computing in China, made great contributions in promoting applications of computational mathematics to the four modernizations of our country. ``Scientific and Engineering Computing'' is one of the national key projects on basic research, professsor Feng was the leading scientist of this project.
The life of Professor Feng is a life of continuous fighting for science, is a life of unselfish sacrifice for the prosperity of our motherland. In his researches, he stressed the importance of linking theory with practice. He paved the ways for new directions, and new fields in research. He lead groups after group of researchers . He never satisfied, having the responsibility in and working for the country, made him stand at the frontier of the filed of computational mathematics. Even at the age of over 70 years old, he still worked later into the night. He was working for a new paper just one hour before he fell ill. During the few minutes that he waked from his inconcious, the first that he asked was the preparation of the "1993 Conference on Scientific and Engineering Computing for young Chinese Scientists". In his heart there was only science. He was a general, he was also a soldier, working very hard. He was a teacher, guiding us in research, and he was also a friend, working with us. He was a excellant example of the old generation of intellecturals, is a model for us to learn.
Now, Professor Feng left us. It is so sadenly, and it is so unfortunately. We shall always remember the his teaching and advices. and work for the sake that he had been working for.
Professor Feng, you shall always live in our heart.
Computing Center,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
August 18, 1993