Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I have the sad news to report that Prof. C. C. Lin passed away in Beiging at 5:30 am January 13, 2013. He leaves behind a wife, Shou-Yin, and daughter, Lillian, and a profound legacy in applied mathematics, fluid dynamics, and astrophysics.

As most of you know, Prof. Lin had a major part in the founding of ASIAA by introducing the concept of an Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at a Convocation of the Academicians of Academia Sinica.
For me, he was a teacher and a mentor who got me into astrophysics in the first place. He set an example of professionalism, scientific integrity, and personal responsibility, that shine as lessons for us all.
Many of you know of him only as the inventor of density-wave theory. But, in fact, he became a member of the US national Academy of Sciences before he ever wrote a single paper on density wave theory. For example, when I first began as his research student, his main interest was wind-driven ocean circulation.

His scientific career got off on a good start when he was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1933 as the candidate with the top entrance examination scores in all of China. A legend among his classmates (or so my father told me), he graduated four years later still at the top of his class. His education was interrupted by World War II, and he obtained his PhD from Caltech in 1944 under the guidance of the renowned aerodynamicist Theodore Von Karman, again achieving the highest marks for Caltech graduate students of that period. He solved a problem in hydrodynamic stability that had stumped Werner Heisenberg. His solution is today the classic example for the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. He is often called the "father of applied mathematics," and he achieved the rank of Institute Professor at MIT in 1966, the highest professorial position at that institute. (The other Institute Professors at that time were Norbert Wiener, who invented the field of cybernetics, Paul Samuelson, the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, and Noam Chomsky, the distinguished linguist and logician). He retired from MIT in 1987, but continued to work on scientific problems that interested him. In 2002 he returned to Tsinghua University in Beijing and founded the Zhou Pei-Yuan Center for Applied Mathematics. Whenever I saw him during that next decade, he would always excitedly tell me about his ideas on the important biophysics problem of protein folding. From turbulence in pipes, to the global circulation of ocean currents, to the spiral structure of galaxies, to the folding of proteins, the mind of Professor C. C. Lin knew no restraints or boundaries. He was a great scientist and teacher, and a fine human being. He will be missed but never forgotten.

With great sadness,

Frank

----------

Dear Colleagues,

I am saddened by the passing of Professor CC Lin. Professor Lin was a giant in applied mathematics, fluid dynamics, and astrophysics. His pioneering work laid the foundation of turbulent shear flow and spiral density structure of galaxies. His devotion and dedication to the advancement and globalization of Chinese science has made enormous impacts. He is indeed an intellectual mentor and role model with the highest personal integrity for all of us.

Professor Lin lived a full and meaningful life. He left behind many memories for us to treasure. Personally, I recall first meeting him in the summer of 1972, when he led a group of Chinese American senior scientists to visit China. His visit reopen the gate for research in fundamental science in the aftermath of total cultural destruction. A few years later, I had the fortunate opportunity to be personally inspired and encouraged by him in Cambridge to pursue theoretical astrophysics. In the early 90's, he actively encouraged a group of colleagues to launch an initiative to modernize astronomy and astrophysics on both sides of the Taiwan straight. Three years ago, it was truly inspirational for young students at Peking and Tsinghua University to crowd around him during a colloquium at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics. He has indeed touched many and made a difference in their career development and personal growth.

At this moment of loss, my mind and heart are with you. There are much to celebrate Professor Lin's life-long accomplishments and resolution to carry on his unfinished dreams. Hopefully, his goals to restore China's rightful place in the center stage of world scientific community will be realized in the not too distant future. We have much to do to carry on his torch.

Please convey my most sincere condolence to Mrs Lin and their family.

With deepest sympathy,

Douglas Lin 林潮

----------

Dear friends,

I am deeply saddened to learn about the unexpected passing away of Prof. CC Lin on January 13, 2013. In addition to losing one of the giants of 20^th century applied mathematics, it is a tremendous personal loss as I did not get a chance to meet him in person. (I so wanted to).

The conference in Beijing in June 2013, intended to celebrate 50 years of the "Lin & Shu" spiral density wave theory, will now also be a memorial to Prof. Lin. I am comforted to know that Prof. Lin knew about our plans to honor his monumental contributions to astrophysics and fluid dynamics. I am confident that Prof. Shu will give those of us who did not get to know Prof. Lin directly a vivid picture of the man. Prof. Lin's scientific contributions were clearly in a class of their own.

Hans Zinnecker
SOFIA Science Center, NASA-Ames,
California, USA