Scientist working in UK for last 20 years joins China’s hypersonic programme

beijingwalker · May 15, 2023

Scientist working in UK for last 20 years joins China’s hypersonic programme

May 14, 2023, 09:40 PM IST

A prominent physicist working in the UK for over 20 years on hypersonic technology has now joined China to lead an innovation team working to make hypersonic vehicles more efficient and effective. Zhang Yonghao came to Britain in the early 2000s from China to work as a computational scientist at Daresbury Laboratory. In 2020, he was appointed as chair professor at the University of Edinburgh, the highest academic rank that can be achieved.

How will Zhang Yonghao help China’s hypersonic programme?

Over the last 20 years in the UK, Yonghao’s research focused on understanding multiscale and multiphysical flow physics through theoretical and computational studies. This area holds critical importance for fields such as aerospace engineering, energy production and environmental science.

He has been working on new methods and models in the field of gas dynamics, specifically in the areas of rarefied gas dynamics and multiscale fluid mechanics. This is important for the development of a hypersonic programme because hypersonic vehicles are supposed to withstand high levels of temperature and pressure.

His contract with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Mechanics started immediately after he resigned from the University of Edinburgh in October last year.

British government concerned

The UK government's investigation into academics with ties to China in 2021 has raised concerns over national security and intellectual property theft. The investigation targeted individuals associated with Chinese organisations, including universities and research institutions.

As a result, a significant number of scientists and postgraduate students were prohibited from working in Britain in 2022 due to national security reasons. The Guardian reported that the Foreign Office's screening programme rejected more than 1,000 individuals in 2022, a significant increase from just 13 people in 2016.

While these measures are designed to protect research and development, they pose a threat to scientific collaboration and innovation, especially in fields where China is a dominant player, according to some experts and academics in the UK. However, it is unclear why Zhang Yonghao decided to join the Beijing-based national hypersonic laboratory in China.

China’s hypersonic programme and foreign collaborations

A report by FlightGlobal suggests that China’s hypersonic programme is majorly aided by China’s collaborations with researchers and experts in universities in Australia, Germany, Sweden, and the UK. China’s Harbin Institute of Technology and National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) plays a key role in the development of Hypersonic vehicle in China. Both of these institutes work closely with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army or PLA.