‘Dig into tough problems’: scientists remember Jiang Zemin for his intellectual curiosity
- Former president had a keen appreciation of science, ‘thirst to explore new ideas’
- Jiang sometimes even phoned researchers directly with tough questions
Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin has been remembered for his lifelong intellectual curiosity and keen appreciation of science. Jiang died last week at the age of 96.
Rudolph Marcus, a professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, met Jiang during a trip to China as part of a US Nobel laureates delegation in 2000.
“At a dinner in Beidaihe, we were asked to give advice to the government, so I spoke in favour of basic research – and not just applied research,” said Marcus, who received the 1992 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his theoretical work on electron transfer in chemical systems.
Marcus said he gave Jiang “examples of some striking consequences for society of what originally started as basic research projects”.
“And we both talked about our grandchildren … the meeting was delightful,” he said.
