Louise Zung-nyi Loh

Louise Zung-nyi Loh
陆慎仪
A young Chinese woman, dark hair cropped to jaw length, wearing a high-collared loose-fitting blouse or dress
Louise Zung-nyi Loh, from the 1924 yearbook of Wellesley College
Born
Loh Zung-nyi

March 10, 1900
Jiangsu, China
DiedApril 25, 1981
Ohio, U.S.
Other namesShenyi Lu
Occupation(s)Mathematician, physicist, educator

Louise Zung-nyi Loh (simplified Chinese: 陆慎仪; traditional Chinese: 陸慎儀; pinyin: Lù Shènyí)[1] (March 10, 1900 – April 25, 1981) was a Chinese mathematician, physicist, and educator. She taught mathematics and physics in China from 1925 to 1948, and in the United States after 1948.

Early life and education

Loh was born in Jiangsu. She attended Ginling College in 1920 and 1921, and Wellesley College from 1921 until her graduation in 1924.[2] At Wellesley she was chair of the Chinese students' club.[3] She earned a master's degree in physics and mathematics at Cornell University in 1925.[4] Her thesis at Cornell was titled "The Effect of Temperature on the Absorption of Fluorescein" (1925).[5][6] She pursued further studies at Oxford from 1935 to 1937.[7] and was a graduate student at the University of Michigan in 1952.[8]

Career

Loh taught mathematics and physics from 1925 to 1948, at Ginling College, Central University, and Hunan University.[7] She was acting dean of Ginling College in 1946 and 1947. She was a founding member of the Chinese Mathematical Society,[4] and a member of the Mathematical Association of America[9] the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Physical Society.[10]

During the Nanjing Massacre in 1927, Loh warned foreign faculty at Ginling College of the approaching danger: "It was she who went to every laboratory and class room and ordered foreign teachers to the faculty house at once," recalled a fellow Wellesley alumna. She also retrieved the contents of the college safe, and organized emergency clothing for the evacuees.[11] She was mentioned in missionary Minnie Vautrin's diary, conferring with Vautrin and Wu Yi-fang about the school's future.[12]

Loh returned to the United States in 1948, and taught mathematics and physics[13] at Wellesley College,[14][15] Smith College, Wilson College,[16] Western College for Women.[17][18] From 1956 to 1964, she worked as a physicist at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.[4]

Personal life

Loh died in 1981, aged 81 years, in Ohio.[19] She left money to establish the Louise Zung-nyi Loh Scholarship Fund at Ohio State University, to support students interested in East Asian studies.[4][20]

References

  1. ^ Xiong, Rosalinda. "The Seven Sisters and Ginling College " page 20.
  2. ^ Wellesley College, Legenda (1924 yearbook): 77.
  3. ^ Hu, T. (June 1922). "Wellesley College". The Chinese Students' Monthly. 17: 704.
  4. ^ a b c d "Loh Zung-nyi". The View from Ginling. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  5. ^ Loh, Zung-Nyi (1925). The Effect of Temperature on the Absorption of Fluorescein. Cornell University.
  6. ^ Cornell University (1925). The Register, Cornell University. p. 134.
  7. ^ a b "Many New Faces Around the Campus Greet Students on Opening Day". The Wilson Billboard. September 30, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved November 2, 2021 – via JStor.
  8. ^ "Chinese Girls Visit Tomb of Their Benefactor". Lansing State Journal. 1952-06-17. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Cairns, W. D. (1925). "Ninth Annual Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America". The American Mathematical Monthly. 32 (4): 145–160. doi:10.1080/00029890.1925.11986436. ISSN 0002-9890. JSTOR 2300240.
  10. ^ "Membership List of the American Physical Society". Bulletin of the American Physical Society. 3: 33. October 1928.
  11. ^ "Zung-Nyi Loh, Wellesley '24, Showed Loyalty in Nanking" Wellesley College News (January 26, 1928): 1.
  12. ^ Vautrin, Minnie (2008). Terror in Minnie Vautrin's Nanjing: Diaries and Correspondence, 1937-38. University of Illinois Press. pp. 10, 225n3. ISBN 978-0-252-03332-2.
  13. ^ "Chinese Physicist to Join Wilson Faculty". Public Opinion. 1949-07-12. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  14. ^ "News and Notices". The American Mathematical Monthly. 55 (9): 602. 1948. ISSN 0002-9890. JSTOR 2304488.
  15. ^ "2 Chinese Women to Teach at Wellesley". The Boston Globe. 1948-04-25. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Schneckenburger, Edith R. (1949). "News and Notices". The American Mathematical Monthly. 56 (8): 573–578. doi:10.1080/00029890.1949.11999444. ISSN 0002-9890. JSTOR 2305549.
  17. ^ "Western Appoints Chinese Woman to its Faculty". The Journal Herald. 1954-06-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Prof Named at Western". Dayton Daily News. 1954-06-06. p. 69. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Louise Zung-nyi Loh (obituary)". The Journal Herald. 1981-05-02. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Graduate EASC Scholarships". East Asian Studies Center. Retrieved 2021-11-03.