Zhang Yaoming, academician of the Department of Chemical Industry, Metallurgy and Material Engineering of Chinese Academy of Engineering, born in December 1943 at Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, graduated from Shanghai Tongji University in 1965 and was then allocated to Nanjing Glass Fiber Research Design Institute after graduation. He was serving as Vice Director of the Institute from 1993 to 1995 and Director of the Institute from 1995 to 2003. Now, he is serving Chairman of Nanjing Association for Science and Technology, Director of the Solar Energy Technical Research Center of Southeast University, Director of Southeast University-Zhongcai Tiancheng Solar Energy Joint Research Center and Chairman of Nanjing Zhongcai Tiancheng New Energy Co., Ltd. etc.
He has taken charge of and undertaken over 20 significant key scientific and technological projects at national, ministerial and provincial level in succession. Among others, six projects won the Second Prize for National Invention Award and the National Science and Technology Progress Award, five projects won the Second Prize for Ministerial and Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and one project won Dupont Award. With over 30 works and papers published, over 100 patents as applied for including over 50 invention patents and over 50 authorizations, he, as a pioneer and technical founder,has cultivated a batch of excellent youth technical backbone for the field of non-communication optical fiber and special glass fiber. Thus he has been conferred over 10 honors and titles by the Ministry of Personnel and the State Building Materials Bureau such as “Model Worker in the Building Material System”, etc. In 1995, he was awarded “Wang Danping Science Prize Award”.
He pioneered the 20-hole double crucible drawbench technology, the super double-head drawbench, the multi-row and multi-hole co-extrusion plastic fiber technology, etc. The manufacturing technology of such non-communication fiber as multi-component glass optical fiber, plastic optical fiber and image fiber bundle under his study have all reached the globally advanced level and some technologies are internationally leading, which have promoted the development of China's non-communication optical fiber and formed the industrial scale of non-communication optical fiber over one billion yuan in China. In addition, he also initiated the platinum furnace high-strength glass fiber and cone needle tubing cooling technology, focused on the supporting research and manufacturing of three-dimensional woven fabrics for heat-resistant materials involved in the “31 Project”, one of the four major national defense projects and the fiberglass shaped woven fabrics for the antenna housing concerned in the “No. 10 Project”. All of these have greatly contributed to China’s fiberglass industry and the national defense and military industry.
He’s titled as the “Sunshine Academician” for his long-term and persistent pursuit of solar energy utilization. His researches mainly cover the solar lighting, the power generation by solar thermal energy and concentrating photovoltaics, and integrated utilization of solar photovoltaic-thermal energy, etc.. Besides, he also took charge of a series of scientific research projects such as special projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Science and Technology as well as high technology researches of Jiangsu Province, etc., in the course of which, breakthroughs have been constantly achieved. The team under his leadership took the initiative in establishing the first 70kW solar-thermal power generation demonstration project in China and has successfully developed a cost-effective concentrating photovoltaic power generation system. In terms of solar energy utilization, he has applied for more than 60 national patents, 30 of which have been authorized.
He was appraised as “The First Top 10 Excellent Patent Inventor of Jiangsu Province” in 2004，and in 2005, he won the special prize for the 1st “Invention Entrepreneurial Award” in China and was titled as “Modern Inventor”.
