Two Lives of Cheng Maolan

Thierry Montmerle is currently Director of Research with the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris. His main area of scientific expertise can be summarized as "High-energy phenomena in star-forming regions", but he also has interest in planet formation and astrobiology. He has published nearly 400 papers and organized many international conferences, serving as Co-Editor of their proceedings.A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supéreure in Paris, he obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics in 1975. He spent most of his career as staff member of CEA, the French Atomic Energy Commission (Service d'Astrophysique), and took a leave as Director of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble from 2006 to 2010. He has been General Secretary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) from 2012 to 2015. During the IAU General Assembly in Vienna (2018), he participated actively in the Symposium celebrating the IAU Centenary (the Union had been created in 1919 along with several other scientific Unions), and he organized an international conference in Paris in October 2019, entitled "Astronomers as Diplomats", focusing on the role of the IAU in scientific diplomacy in the times of international crises. He edited and authored several books including part of the Proceedings and "IAU Transactions" of the Beijing (2012) and Honolulu (2015) General Assemblies, as well as “Young Sun, Early Earth, and the Origin of Life” (2012) and the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology (2015+). Based on the Paris "Astronomers as Diplomats" conference, he has co-authored two books for Springer's Historical and Cultural Astronomy Series: (i) "Astronomers as Diplomats: When the IAU builds bridges between nations", co-edited with Danielle Fauque (Orsay); (ii) "China and the IAU: Divorce, Separation, and Reconciliation (1958-1982)", with a Chinese co-author (Yi Zhou). The present book ("The two lives of Cheng Maolan") is the third volume of the “trilogy” stemming from the Paris Conference.Yi Zhou (first name: Yi, family name: Zhou) is a seasoned Journalist/Translator/Researcher, born in Xi’an, China. He is now based in Paris, where he is a “curious observer” of current world events. He is passionate about contemporary history and investigative journalism. He has worked for the Chinese service of the French public radio station “Radio France International” (RFI) since 2015. Previously, he finished high school in Columbus, Ohio, USA, and he went on studying in France at “Sciences Po” (the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris) for both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, specializing in political and social sciences. He obtained a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Development from the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) of Sciences Po. Coming from China and having studied in the USA, France and the Netherlands, this has given him a special set of understanding skills and rare experience in dealing with cross regional and international political and social subjects.Yves Gomas is a former high school physics and chemistry teacher and middle school headmaster. He obtained his PhD in 2017 in History of Science from Lyon University, with a biography of Jean Dufay (1896-1967), Director of the Lyon Observatory and founder of the Haute-Provence Observatory. Yves Gomas is now an associate researcher in history of science at University of Lyon 1. He is studying the history of observatories, astronomers and astronomical instrumentation, particularly in Lyon and Haute Provence. He is currently writing articles for Springer’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.

“A common phrase throughout the book is ‘very little is known about ...’ (various periods of his life, typically), but what is known or reconstructed is a fascinating read.” (Virginia Trimble, The Observatory, Vol. 142 (1291), December, 2022)

• The French “Silk Road” towards Astronomy (1926-1957).- Return to the motherland (1957-1978).- Appendix: Chinese students in astronomy at the Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon (1921-1947) and their careers.- Name Index.