FAST Chief Scientist and Chief Engineer Nan Rendong (Image from National Astronomical Observatories of China, CAS)
Professor Nan Rendong, a famous Chinese astronomer, died of lung cancer at 11:23 pm on Sept 15. He was chief scientist and engineer of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the world's largest radio telescope located in southwestern China's Guizhou province, and a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories, CAS.
Nan always kept a low profile. In accordance with his will, his funeral was simple and no memorial service was held.
The public were far more aware of the FAST, nicknamed Sky Eye, than they were of Professor Nan. He did not care about fame, nor did he like socializing or attracting attention. He just wanted to “do something”.
But there were also times when Nan made high-profile appearances – when it came to the FAST project.
Back in 1993, scientists proposed during the International Union of Radio Science General Assembly & Scientific Symposium in Tokyo, Japan that a new generation of radio telescopes should be built to receive more information from outer space prior to further deterioration of the global radio wave environment.
Hearing the proposal, Nan, nearly 50 at the time, was so excited. “In seizing this opportunity, China can lead the world in astronomical research for decades to come,” he said. He did not keep it low-key this time. He volunteered to talk to Wu Shengyin, the Chinese representative to the meeting. “Maybe China could also build one?” he asked.
However, the FAST was almost a crazy idea for early 1990s China, which was hardly able to meet any of the requirements for constructing such a project such as overcoming geological conditions, developing technology and covering engineering costs. So almost no expert was optimistic about the project, and some even regarded it as a tale from the Arabian Nights, which could never come true.
Nevertheless, Nan was determined to carry out the plan. The most difficult part was to get the project proposals approved. During that period of time, Nan changed a lot, almost to another person. He became extremely eager for public attention to the project, because nobody knew better than him that the research team had already spent years on site selection and feasibility studies, and that he must not fail in getting project approval. If he did fail, all previous work would go down the drain.
Nan paid his transport costs with his own money, and “begged for alms” wherever he went. He traveled across China and negotiated with potential partners one by one. Thanks to his painstaking efforts, the names of more than 20 institutional partners eventually appeared in the final application material.
After decades of efforts, the FAST project was finally approved as a major national mega-science facility in July 2007.
According to Chen Xuelei, a researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories, Nan had always followed his sometimes whimsical and unruly heart. So it was hard to imagine that such a person had been devoted to one single project, for 22 long years.
In the early 1990s, Nan quit a lucrative job in Japan and returned to China without hesitation to be engaged in the preparatory work for the FAST project.
The project was faced with unimaginable challenges at the time. Not only did it involve more than ten different disciplines, including astronomy, mechanics, machinery engineering, structural engineering, and electronics and geotechnical engineering, there was also no example to follow in the development of key technologies. Moreover, the researchers had to make breakthroughs in developing key materials, and the construction was faced with arduous and complicated conditions.
In order to find a suitable site for the FAST project, Nan tramped over hill and dale every day and visited hundreds of possible sites in Guizhou from 1994 to 2005.
During the 22 long years, through perseverance and industriousness Nan led colleagues to resolve numerous technical problems and turned a dream into reality.
“Without him there would be no ‘Sky Eye’,” commented almost everyone interviewed by reporters.
Unfortunately, in 2015, at the age of 70, Nan was diagnosed with lung cancer. But he did not give up his work and even went to the construction site when necessary. In the last few months of his life, he continued to keep a close watch on every development of the FAST project. The FAST was put into use in September 2016.
When news of Nan’s death came in the early morning of Sept 16, grief-stricken colleagues laid flowers in the doorway to his office on the third floor of Tower A, National Astronomical Observatories. Passers-by would also stop and bow, paying tribute to him. In cyberspace, acquaintances and strangers, Chinese and foreigners alike, mourned for him in their own ways.
Prof Nan (R) selecting a site for FAST (Image from NAOC)
Prof Nan (squatting in white shirt) traveled extensively to find a suitable site for FAST (Image from NAOC)
Professor Nan talks with engineering technicians at the Dawodang depression construction site, Guizhou province, China, in 2014. (Image from NAOC)
About Professor Nan:
Professor Nan Rendong, a famous Chinese astronomer, was a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS, the Chief Scientist and Chief Engineer of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), and the former Deputy Director of Beijing Astronomical Observatory.
Professor Nan was the initiator and founder of the FAST project. From 1994 he was responsible for FAST site selection, pre-research and project proposals, feasibility studies and preliminary designs. As the chief scientist and engineer of the project, he was responsible for establishing the scientific goals of FAST and guiding its construction. He was the leader in a series of technological breakthroughs, including addressing cable fatigue and developing a moving fiber optic cable. Professor Nan made outstanding contributions to the successful completion of the FAST construction.
Source: National Astronomical Observatories of China, CAS