Call Number:

SC MS 0135

Repository:

Lehigh University Special Collections

Extent:

12 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item], C. C. Hsiung Papers, 1937-2009, SC MS 0135, Special Collections, Linderman Library, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Date:

1937-2009 (inclusive)

Creator:

Hsiung, Chuan-Chih

Abstract:

"C.C. Hsiung Papers" contains correspondence on personal and academic matters, drafts and manuscripts of publications, syllabi, lectures, conference, colloquium and seminar documents, and mathematical notes documenting the career of Lehigh University Professor of Mathematics Chuan-Chih Hsiung who was the founder and the chief editor of the Journal of Differential Geometry. The collection also contains photographs, books and reprints of articles, and correspondence with Chinese scholars who were applying to American colleges. The collection's coverage is from 1937 to 2004; most of the documents are from 1952 to 1984.

C.C. Hsiung was born in Jiangxi (or Kiangsi), China in February 15, 1916. He graduated from the National University of Chekiang (now called Zheziang University), China in 1936. He came to the United States in 1945 and earned his PhD from Michigan State University in 1948 where he also was an instructor until 1950. Besides teaching at MSU before coming to Lehigh University in 1952, Hsiung held postdoctoral positions at the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University and Harvard University. At Lehigh, he became associate professor in 1955 and in 1960 he became Lehigh's first full professor of Asian ancestry. Hsiung worked as a professor at Lehigh until his retirement in 1984 but stayed in his office to continue his research until 2004 as an emeritus. Most of Hsiung's research was in differential geometry on which he wrote nearly one hundred papers and two books and developed theorems, one of which is "Minkowski-Hsiung Integral Formula" In 1967 he founded the Journal of Differential Geometry at Lehigh University and was the Editor-in-Chief for 42 years until his death. Among his other accomplishments, he was also a member of Sigma Xi, national research honorary; Pi Mu Epsilon, mathematics honorary; the American Mathematical Society, and the Mathematical Association of America. Hsiung married to Wenchin Yu in 1942 and they were married for 62 years until Wenchin's death in 2004. They had one daughter, Nancy, who lives in Weston, Massachusetts. Hsiung died on May 6, 2009.

1932-1936 B.S., National Cheiang University, Hangchow, China 1945 Arrival to the United States 1948 PhD: Michigan State University 1948-1950 Instructor: University of Wisconsin 1950 (Fall) Lecturer, Northwestern University 1951-1952 Research Fellow, Harvard University 1952-1955 Assistant Professor, Lehigh University 1955-1960 Associate Professor, Lehigh University 1959-1960 Visiting Associate Professor, Mathematics Research Center, U.S. Army, at University of Wisconsin. 1962 Visiting Specialist, University of California, Berkeley 1960-1984 Professor, Lehigh University 1984- Emeritus, Lehigh University

"C.C. Hsiung Papers" contains correspondence on personal and academic matters, drafts and manuscripts of his publications, syllabi, lectures and mathematical research notes of Lehigh University Professor of Mathematics who was the founder and the chief editor of the Journal of Differential Geometry. The collection also contains books and reprints of articles, and recommendation letters and resumes of Chinese scholars who were sending applications to American colleges. There are also a few items regarding his family. The collection, especially his correspondence and mathematical notes, contains documents in English and Chinese. In some cases both languages can be found in the same document. There are also a very few correspondence in German and French.

The papers are organized topically and then chronologically. The category "Before Lehigh" contains documents produced in China and in the United States before 1952 during his student and postdoctoral instructor years. Documents from the "Lehigh Years" organized chronologically according to his professorship and department chair appointments. In these series, there are academic papers such as lectures, syllabi, mathematical notes, drafts and manuscripts of his writings and administrative documents. Because of their volume, his correspondence with S.S. Chern and Donald C. Spencer have been processed and foldered separately. The documents related to Journal of Differential Geometry are organized as a series reflecting the founding, progress and development of the journal. A few personal and family documents also organized in separate folders. The last part of the collection consists of reprints/preprints of his writings, writings that he reviewed; his books that he authored and other books on mathematics from his personal library. Books written or edited by him kept in Special Collections and housed in the Lehigh Authors collection; books on mathematics are either shelved in Lehigh's general circulating collection or transferred to the Dept. of Mathematics. All the professional publications, except the 1983 Chinese edition of "A Course in Differential Geometry", are in English.