A Chinese biomedical researcher whose academic trajectory included years at the University of California, Berkeley, and collaborations with pioneering chemical engineers has died at the age of 44.
Xie Hongxue, who had been working as a lecturer for nearly five years at the school of materials science and engineering at West Anhui University, a small regional college in central China, died in Wuhan on November 16 from an unnamed illness, according to Shanghai-based news site ThePaper.cn.
Xie’s journey reflects a growing paradox in Chinese higher education. Despite elite overseas training and a prolific research record, some returnees now face diminishing prospects, ending up in under-resourced universities with heavy workloads and limited support.
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He is among the dozens of younger Chinese academics who have died this year, an issue that has raised further questions about the country’s cutthroat academic system.
He spent several years at Berkeley, studying under John Prausnitz, who is considered the father of molecular thermodynamics in chemical engineering.
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His work helped make modern chemical manufacturing processes more energy-efficient, safer and less polluting, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.