After Zhang Kezhong graduated from middle school, Nankai University, which was still in its infancy at that time, did not have the conditions to recruit students in mathematics and science, so Zhang Kezhong had to study at Tangshan Jiaotong University. However, Nankai University soon established the Department of Mathematics and Science, and Zhang Kezhong re-applied for the exam, becoming the earliest student in the mixed class of arts and sciences of Nankai University, and was able to renew his love with Nankai.
In the same year, Jane Brothers, the chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, set up Jane Scholarship to support domestic college students to study in the United States. Only Zhang Kezhong, a freshman, is not qualified to take this graduate exam, but President Zhang Boling, who has always loved talents, personally recommended Zhang Kezhong to Jianyi Basic Recruitment Agency. With Bole, how can there be no swift horse? Zhang Kezhong made an exception and was allowed to take the exam. He stood out as the youngest and the least educated, ranking first. From 65438 to 0923, Zhang Kezhong received Jane's grant to study in the United States and entered the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering, which is also a new discipline in the United States. Since then, his life has pointed to the chemical industry.
W. K.Lewis, a famous professor dubbed as the "originator" of chemical engineering, was very surprised that Zhang Kezhong, a student from a backward country in science, had such a good knowledge of mathematics, physics and English, and was appointed as Zhang Kezhong's tutor.
One percent of talent and ninety-nine percent of diligence finally made Zhang Kezhong wear the title of doctor five years later. During 1928, MIT awarded Zhang Kezhong a doctor of science degree and published his doctoral thesis "Diffusion Principles". This book immediately caused a sensation in the American scientific community. China people, who have been neglected for a long time, have learned a lot from the American scientific community. The "diffusion principle" was named "Zhang Theorem". Zhang Kezhong was only twenty-four years old that year.
After five years' hard work, Zhang Kezhong completed all the courses and experiments that usually take 89 years from undergraduate to doctoral, with amazing speed, and wrote a high-level doctoral thesis. The diffusion principle put forward in this paper is the result of his research on the mechanism of distillation process. Combining with the original basic diffusion equation and experimental data, the factors affecting the tray efficiency are quantitatively analyzed. This diffusion principle is very enlightening and is called "Zhang diffusion principle", which is still used today. 1928, Zhang kezhong became the first person in China to get a doctorate in chemical engineering with excellent results. Louis, the tutor, highly praised Zhang Kezhong's achievements and talents and insisted that he stay as a teaching assistant. However, Zhang Kezhong resolutely left the United States and returned to his alma mater, Nankai University, with a strong desire to train chemical talents for the motherland and revitalize the chemical industry.
Professor Louis insisted on keeping his favorite student, Zhang Kezhong, at MIT and arranging positions for him three times. On the one hand, the United States has excellent working and living conditions, and on the other hand, it is a scientifically poor and poor motherland. Zhang Kezhong chose the latter out of a pure heart, refused the kindness of his tutor without hesitation and returned to the motherland.
On the eve of his return to China, Zhang Kezhong had a long talk with Zhang Jin, a classmate of MIT and later chemist. He told Zhang Hongyuan that in China, which has vast land and sea resources, developing chemical industry is a feasible way to enrich the country. Zhang Kezhong also talked about his great respect for patriotic educator Zhang Boling and his great love for Nankai. In order to repay the teacher's kindness to him and the cultivation of his alma mater, he decided to accept the appointment of Nankai University to teach, although Nantah had to raise funds by itself at that time, and the funds were limited, so the salary he could get was far from that of similar schools in China. Zhang Kezhong even persuaded Zhang to come to Nankai after returning to China, because there is a lot of room for him here.
Zhang Boling's ideal is to turn Nankai into a famous university recognized by Chinese people. At that time, compared with famous universities such as Tsinghua and Peking University, Nankai was far behind in terms of professor lineup, equipment and economic strength. How can we make our own characteristics? According to the actual situation in China at that time, President Zhang thought that education should cultivate useful talents and research should conform to the national economy and people's livelihood, so he decided to seize the word "application" and make efforts.
The return of Zhang Kezhong, who is good at applied chemistry, undoubtedly makes President Zhang as excited as a long drought. No wonder a gentleman jokingly said to Zhang Kezhong at that time, "President Zhang got the timely rain from MIT." Zhang Kezhong has always been very much in favor of MIT's school-running policy of "paying equal attention to theory and practice" and "teaching and scientific research at the same time", which in itself coincides with President Zhang's idea. Zhang Kezhong is really a "timely rain" in Zhang Boling. When Zhang Kezhong returned to Nantah, he felt like a duck to water and immediately went to work.
Zhang Kezhong was only 25 years old when he was employed by Nankai University, and he was the youngest professor at that time. He first actively founded the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Technical College. 193 1 August, the department of chemical engineering was established. Professor Zhang Hongyuan, Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gao Zizhan, Jiang Zizhan and Yan Tiejun were hired to give lectures on chemical engineering principles, chemical engineering calculation and quantitative analysis respectively. Zhang Kezhong personally teaches industrial chemistry. He also arranges some time for students to participate in practical work every year, such as chemical analysis, equipment installation and debugging. Zhang Kezhong is one of the founders of China Chemical Engineering Society. In order to enliven academic exchanges, Chemical Engineering, founded by Zhang Kezhong and his colleagues of China Chemical Engineering Society, was published in Tianjin from 65438 to 0934. He works as a manager and editor. This article was published in English. 4 issues per year, 1 volume. This is the first high-level academic journal of chemical industry published at home and abroad, which is highly valued by chemical industry peers.
The establishment of the Institute of Applied Chemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering is in line with the policy of "teaching and scientific research at the same time". Zhang Kezhong is also the director of Huaying Institute and the head of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
In the articles of association of the Institute of Applied Chemistry of Nankai University, it is written as follows: "The purpose of this institute is to study the practical problems of China's industry and commerce, and use the equipment of Nankai University to help China's industry and commerce improve the quality of their export commodities, so as to achieve the practical results of learning and social cooperation." Zhang Kezhong emphasized "equal emphasis on scientific research and production". Huaying's research topic is not to read books from the "ivory tower", but to be directly entrusted by various factories to tackle key problems and solve practical problems. Today we often say that "science and technology should be transformed into productive forces as soon as possible". At that time, the direct connection between scientific research and production adopted by Huaying was undoubtedly the fastest transformation method.
At the grassroots level, Huaying Institute was very simple. It was near the boiler room in the dormitory, with only a few low bungalows, old tables and several long benches of different styles. With the development of scientific research and entrustment business, the old site was not enough to apply for, so I moved to the big classroom of Siyuantang, the science teaching building of Nantah. The staff is also very streamlined. There are only fifteen staff members in the institute at most, including famous chemists Qiu Zongyue and Professor Gao Changgeng. Zhang Kezhong, who was sworn overseas, served as deputy director and director of the research department after returning home. Although the conditions are poor and there are few people, everyone is full of energy and efficient. Zhang Kezhong even set an example, eight hours a day, regardless of the inside and outside, there is no such concept as holidays. He devoted all his energy outside of teaching to Huaying College.
It is often said that the Institute of Applied Chemistry and the Economic Research Institute sponsored by Professor He Lian are the two apple of Zhang Boling's eye. In fact, Huaying College has indeed contributed a lot to Nantah.
From June 65438 to June 0933, the Institute of Applied Chemistry accepted the design, construction and commissioning of Tianjin Lizhong sulfuric acid plant. By May of 1934, the trial operation was successful and the operation was good. The annual output of this plant is 30,000 tons of sulfuric acid, and the total cost is only 6.5438+0.3 million yuan. Before, the factory wanted to entrust a foreign contractor with a asking price of 250,000 yuan, and also paid the living expenses of foreign engineers and welders. Compared with the two, the investment is saved by more than 654.38 million yuan. The completion of the sulfuric acid plant greatly inspired the ambition of China chemical technicians, and also created enormous economic and social benefits.
From 1932 to 1936, the Institute of Applied Chemistry has successively received more than 300 samples. Some improved the original analysis methods, such as the analysis of manganese content in manganese ore. It also helped enterprises to study and solve many production problems such as hardening of tea oil, deodorization of honey, bleaching of straw hat braids, printing and plate-making adhesive, blueing agent for bicycle chain, flashlight reflector and so on. The institute also copied metal polishing soap, ink, carbon paper, tanning luminous water, sizing powder, spicy soy sauce and other products. Alcohol, stearic acid, oleic acid, glycerin, potassium soap, yellow lead powder, red lead powder, etc. are all successfully trial-produced by ourselves. Although these can only be produced in small quantities, they have played a positive role in alleviating market demand and resisting foreign goods.
It can be seen from the report of Huaying Research Institute that during the five years from 1932 to 1936, Huaying Research Institute * * * accepted 323 samples for analysis and testing. Among them, Chemical Abstracts of the United States extracted two research priorities: the modification of Goutel calorific value of coal's calculation formula by researchers of Huaying Institute and the improvement of the analysis method of manganese content in manganese ore. In order to resist foreign goods, Huaying Institute also copied some light industrial products. At the same time, in order to better solve the production problems, Huaying Institute also sent people to deliver the technology in person, which can be described as "teaching at home".
In the entrusted work of Huaying Institute, one thing is particularly worth mentioning, that is, the design and construction of sulfuric acid plant in Tianjin Lizhong Company. Tianjin Lizhong Company originally wanted foreign investors to build a sulphuric acid plant with a daily output of three tons. The quotation of foreign investors is 250 thousand yuan for equipment, plus one engineer 15 dollars and two welders' 5 dollars each. At that time, the total amount of funds that Lizhong Company could raise was only 200,000 yuan. In this case, Zhao, the founder of Lizhong Acid Factory, founded the research institute. Zhang Kezhong readily agreed and shouldered this burden with Zhang Hongyuan and Jiang Zizhan. From1June 1933 to May 1934, the company only spent130,000 yuan, and the acid plant was completed and put into operation, and all contracted indicators exceeded those of foreign investors. Foreign businessmen who originally wanted to make some "oil and water" can only look at the ocean and sigh. The establishment of Lizhong Acid Factory has undoubtedly laid a foundation for Tianjin's acid-making industry, and also made China's chemical technicians grow up ambitiously. Huaying Institute recorded this incident in its report 1934, and concluded that "the China problem can be solved by China people themselves" and "China engineers are not necessarily inferior to outsiders".
Large and small factories have entrusted Huaying Research Institute to solve problems in production. In the mid-1930s, Zhang Kezhong's Huaying Institute was "prosperous". Some money earned by Huaying is used to expand equipment and support further research. Zhang Ke faithfully fulfilled his promise of "supporting schools with schools", and Zhang Boling, who is holding evidence of Orange Prince in his hand, should smile.
Huaying College and the Department of Chemical Engineering were originally complementary. Students from the Department of Chemical Engineering have found internship places here, and some excellent students have become the technical force here. Later, when Huaying Research Institute was established, Yan Tiejuan, director of Tianjin Semiconductor Research Institute, was only a sophomore, but also joined the analysis and research work of the Institute.
Although the Department of Chemical Engineering has been established, as a new discipline of chemical engineering, there are no ready-made textbooks in China. Zhang Kezhong and Zhang Hongyuan began to translate foreign textbooks. Later, the two of them and some professors from Zhejiang University began to compile their own textbooks to avoid the cold and heat, and the chemistry textbooks compiled by China chemists were published.
In addition, Zhang Kezhong will re-examine and compile chemical terms with colleagues from all over the world, which has changed the situation of "imported" chemical terms in China. When one of Zhang Kezhong's departments was thriving, 1937 approached. ...
1at midnight on July 29, 937, the long-planned Japanese invaders shelled Tianjin, and one of the targets was Nankai University. Huaying College and the Ministry of Chemical Industry, which Zhang Kezhong painstakingly managed, were also bombed, and Nankai was in trouble. He wasn't on the scene, but he helped Hou expand the sulfuric acid button factory. Professor Gao and Yan Tie, who stayed behind, braved the bullets to save a lot of equipment, and then they moved to the southwest rear with these equipment.
Although Zhang Kezhong was reunited with his wife, mother and second son in Chongqing, his eldest son, Zhang Songshou, died because he was ill and could not be treated. People who suffer from the loss of their children are not depressed. He rebuilt Huaying College and the Department of Chemical Engineering in Chongqing. He was busy all day, spared no effort to fight against difficulties, and also founded a small-scale factory-Nankai Chemical Plant. The initial situation of the chemical plant is good.
However, the national disaster is imminent, and the difficulty of scientific research can be imagined. The most common chemicals such as caustic soda and sulfuric acid must be imported from Hong Kong. Most musical instruments can only be bought from local counterfeit shops. These instruments are insensitive and the experimental errors are amazing. At that time, we could only do research and do whatever work we had with drugs and equipment. Zhang Kezhong's ambition finally turned into a silent sigh! After the closure of the chemical plant, Huaying Research Institute also stopped its activities, and the apple of Zhang Boling's eye was also lost.
Prior to this, affected by the current situation, Zhang Kezhong assisted and Hou's Yonglining factory expansion project was also blocked. Zhang Kezhong lamented that Yongli Valley Plant (both Fan and Hou Suokai) produces alkali, which is second only to Japan in Southeast Asia. Please ask Mr. Fan and Mr. Hou to go all out to expand Nanjing Yonglining Plant and develop the production of 5- sulfite. With the wings of acid and alkali, China Chemical Industry is expected to take off. But in the end, man proposes, God disposes, and God doesn't.
Zhang Kezhong's ideal of setting up a department in the south and opening the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in China was shattered when the national crisis hit. But he did not stop. He felt that the enemy was just around the corner. As a seven-foot man, even if he can't go to the battlefield to resist foreign aggression, he should follow the patriotic industrialists Fan and Hou's predecessors to do something for revitalizing the national industry and developing the chemical industry. Zhang Kezhong walked out of his study and began to run a factory to engage in technology. Unfortunately, this road is not smooth.
Sichuan, a land of abundance, is rich in underground treasures. Fan, Hou, Zhang Kezhong and others dug salt wells in Laolongba and Wutongqiao in Sichuan and founded Yonglichuan Factory. At that time, the backward salt industry in China was still a stupid way to concentrate brine to make salt. In order to change this situation, Yonglichuan Factory wanted to adopt the German patent "Tea Temple Method", so it sent Hou and Zhang Kezhong to Germany. At the negotiating table in Berlin, arrogant foreigners tried their best to prevent the products produced with this patent from being sold in the three northeastern provinces except China. In their eyes, the three northeastern provinces are no longer the territory of China. Hou was furious and immediately told the German side: The three northeastern provinces are the territory of China, and of course our products will be sold to the three northeastern provinces! The negotiations broke down.
Zhang Kezhong believes that although the trip to Germany did not buy back the patent of tea temples, it bought back more valuable lessons. If a nation does not resist foreign aggression, it doesn't matter whether it is rich or not. Weak countries have no diplomacy, and even weak countries have no right to trade with foreigners on an equal footing. If the people of China want to be rich and strong, they must first rely on themselves.
Hou is loyal to me. He appealed to his colleagues in the chemical industry: "What people with yellow hair and blue eyes can do, we people with black hair and black eyes should also do!" After three years of hard work, * * * conducted more than 500 experiments, creating a chemical industry that shocked China and foreign countries.
"Hou's soda ash process has broken the monopoly of foreign patents, and all colleagues in the chemical industry are excited about it."
During this period, Zhang Kezhong became the director of Kunming Chemical Plant. In the eyes of others, it may be overqualified, but he is willing. Maybe he thinks that the "wings" of China's chemical industry can be born there. In fact, this is exactly what Zhang Kezhong did: he personally designed and transformed old equipment to produce sulfuric acid; In the absence of advanced equipment, a small amount of soda ash and edible alkali were produced through some efforts and combination outside the soil. Perhaps a person's fate and career success are always linked with national luck. The Japanese invaders quickly strengthened their blockade of the southwest and Kunming was bombed. The development that Zhang Kezhong yearned for has become a bubble.
During the eight-year Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Kezhong suffered many battles and defeats, and made great achievements, but he was often in a helpless situation. Fortunately, he never gave up. He started from scratch again and again, dreaming of the rapid development of the chemical industry in the motherland, but he didn't know when the good dream would come true.
1After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in August, 945, Zhang Kezhong took a group of outstanding technical backbones to Qingdao to receive the puppet factory. The eight-year anti-Japanese war is over, and it's time to reorganize the rivers and mountains. After a period of hard work, * * * has put 1 1 chemical products on the market. When everything improved, the civil war broke out. /kloc-at the end of 0/946, Song Ziwen sent someone to negotiate with Zhang Kezhong, hoping to give Zhang Kezhong a manager position. The actual purpose is to cover more than a dozen chemical plants. Unable to compete with Song Ziwen, Zhang Kezhong finally gave up his factory in Qingdao in tears.
People who believe in science should not talk about fate, but strangely, Zeng Kezhong spent the most brilliant moment of his career development in Nankai since he entered Nankai Middle School, and he has an inseparable relationship with Nankai.
1947, shortly after Nantah resumed school, Zhang Kezhong returned as the dean of the Institute of Technology and the head of Huaying College of Chemical Engineering and Reconstruction.
At this time, Professor Zhang Kezhong took the course of Industrial Chemistry, and personally used his spare time to write the teaching materials for this course. Two books, Inorganic Industrial Chemistry and Organic Industrial Chemistry, were published one after another.
Zhang Kezhong is a strict teacher. According to Yao Yuying, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tianjin University, Zhang Kezhong's students at that time said, "Teacher Zhang often took exams before lectures, which made everyone very nervous. Preview before attending his class, and give targeted explanations according to the questions reflected in the exam after the exam, which makes everyone remember very deeply ... His exam was very difficult, and once only one student in the class passed. The students are all afraid of him. ..... When I was doing the experiment, I heated it with an electric stove, but I only left for a while because I wanted to get something. It happened that Mr. Zhang saw it, and he scolded him for not following the operating rules. A 1% omission may bring irreparable losses. Although everyone is afraid of him, everyone has to be impressed by his academic rigor ... Mr. Zhang's paternalism is very serious. On the eve of my graduation, he didn't seriously talk to me and ask for my advice. He just said' You stay at school' and decided my fate for me. " Having said that, if Yao Yuying didn't respect her teacher, it wouldn't be difficult for her to leave school. Zhang Kezhong's three words decided her life.
In fact, Zhang Kezhong is also a kind teacher. Zhang Kezhong was able to finish his studies with the help of his tutor Zhang Boling, and was not overwhelmed by poverty. Zhang Kezhong also has special feelings for poor students. Professor Shen from the Department of Chemistry of Nankai University and Professor Zhang, former director of the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tianda University, received help from Zhang Kezhong at different times.
The political situation has changed, and Zhang Kezhong has seen the essence of the Kuomintang. 1947 In the second half of the year, his old friend Yang Gongshu wanted to drag him to Taiwan Province Province to set up an office factory. Zhang Kezhong will never forget the tragic experience that more than a dozen factories in Qingdao were annexed by Song Ziwen. He answered Yang Gongshu decisively: I will never die for Chiang Kai-shek and the National Government. And advised Yang not to go either. Zhang Kezhong fainted on the plane from Shanghai to Tianjin because of excessive emotion.
First aid is out of danger, but high blood pressure has laid a fatal root.
Soon, the situation in Tianjin was tense, and the school set up a "safety Committee" to do a good job in school nursing. Zhang Kezhong is also a member of the committee. Teachers and students of the Institute of Technology, Zhang Kezhong and Qi Xin, joined forces to protect Huaying College and various departments of the Institute of Technology in the final darkness, and ushered in the dawn of Tianjinwei.
In the early days of liberation, Zhang Kezhong accepted the warm sunshine of New China. Zhou Enlai, an alumnus of Nankai University, cares about Zhang Kezhong and the development of chemical industry. Invited to attend the first session of China People's Political Consultative Conference and attend the Supreme State Council. On the first day of the meeting, Zhang Kezhong felt that he had not made a commendable contribution to the new China. He didn't want to sit in the designated seat, but chose an inconspicuous last seat to sit down. Unexpectedly, Premier Zhou found him soon, came over, pulled him to Chairman Mao with a smile and said, "This is Zhang Kezhong, Professor Zi Dan." Chairman Mao has known him for a long time, and seeing him is as happy as seeing an old friend. Chairman Mao said: If the new China is to be rich and strong, it must develop its science and chemical industry. You still have a long way to go! Zhang Kezhong was very excited. He felt that his dream of taking off the motherland's chemical industry for more than 20 years was no longer out of reach.