Zhou Ji (born 1946)

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Zhou Ji
周济
President of Chinese Academy of Engineering
In office
June 11, 2010 – June 1, 2018
PremierWen Jiabao
Li Keqiang
Preceded byXu Kuangdi
Succeeded byLi Xiaohong
Minister of Education
In office
March 17, 2003 – October 31, 2009
PremierWen Jiabao
Preceded byChen Zhili
Succeeded byYuan Guiren
Mayor of Wuhan
In office
January 14, 2002 – April 28, 2002
Acting: December 31, 2001 – January 14, 2002
Preceded byWang Shouhai
Succeeded byLi Xiansheng
President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology
In office
June 25, 1997 – February 12, 2001
Preceded byYang Shuzi
Succeeded byFan Mingwu
Personal details
Born (1946-08-26) August 26, 1946 (age 77)
Hankow, Hupeh, Republic of China
(now Wuhan, Hubei, China)
Political partyCommunist Party of China
Alma materTsinghua University
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
University at Buffalo
Scientific career
FieldsMechanical engineering
InstitutionsHuazhong University of Science and Technology
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese

Zhou Ji (Chinese: 周济; born August 26, 1946) is a Chinese mechanical engineer and politician. He served as China's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2009 and President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering from 2010 to 2018. Prior to that, served briefly as Mayor of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.

Biography[edit]

Zhou is a native of Shanghai, and attended Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he graduated from in 1970, and received M.E. degree in mechanical engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1980. Zhou also acquired a doctorate from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (PhD, '84, M.S.'81) in the United States. Much of his early career was spent at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, where he eventually rose to become the president of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1997. He was elected as the fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1999. He then spent a tenure in the municipal government of Wuhan, where he served as deputy mayor and Mayor.

He was transferred to work in the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in 2002 as its Vice-Minister, rising to the Minister position on March 17, 2003. At the re-elections of the 2008 National People's Congress, Zhou received the fewest votes in favour out of any minister. He received 384 votes against, with 81 abstentions.[1] During Zhou's time in office, China's education system continued to be plagued by academic dishonesty, corruption, and arbitrary fees, with no discernible signs of improvement. Zhou was also unpopular due to his introduction of 16 "officially sanctioned" educational Peking Opera works, some of which allegedly included themes similar to those during the Cultural Revolution.[1] These works were openly opposed by members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March 2009. He was removed in October 2009 at a regular session of the National People's Congress; he was replaced by deputy Yuan Guiren.[2]

He was instead appointed deputy party secretary at the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Beijing, a "less important but still significant post," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.[3] Stanley Rosen, director of the East Asian Studies Center at the University of Southern California, commented that Mr. Zhou's new post does not suggest serious punishment, and is "a sign that he's a scapegoat, not that he's corrupt."[3]

Due to the contribution in numeric control, computer-aided design, and design optimization, he was selected as the foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Engineering in 2013.[4]

In 2018 he was elected an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b 港报:袁贵仁有望接任中国教育部长 Archived February 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Chinese education minister sacked for corruption. Times of India
  3. ^ a b "News Analysis: What the Shakeup in China's Education Ministry Could Mean for Reform" by Nara Hvistendahl link Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 4, 2009.
  4. ^ "National Academy of Engineering Elects 69 Members and 11 Foreign Associates".
  5. ^ "50 engineering leaders become Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering". Retrieved September 21, 2018.

External links[edit]

Educational offices
Preceded by President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology
1997–2001
Succeeded by
Fan Mingwu
Government offices
Preceded by
Wang Shouhai
Mayor of Wuhan
2002–2002
Succeeded by
Li Xiansheng
Preceded by Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China
2003–2009
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by President of Chinese Academy of Engineering
2010–2018
Succeeded by