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Chen Ning Yang, Nobel-Winning Physicist Behind Yang–Mills Theory, Dies at 103

Tsinghua University cited illness in Beijing, with tributes focusing on his parity breakthrough plus the Yang–Mills foundation.

Overview

  • Tsinghua University and Chinese state media said he died on Oct. 18 in Beijing, describing the cause only as an illness.
  • He shared the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics with Tsung-Dao Lee for demonstrating parity nonconservation in weak interactions.
  • In 1954 he co-developed the Yang–Mills gauge theory with Robert Mills, a cornerstone of the Standard Model of particle physics.
  • In later years he taught at Tsinghua University, where he was credited with cultivating talent and advancing international academic exchanges.
  • He renounced U.S. citizenship in 2015 and backed initiatives such as NTU’s CN Yang Scholars Programme and the recruitment of Andrew Chi-Chih Yao to Tsinghua.