Shiu-Ying Hu
Shiu-Ying Hu | |
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Elmer Drew Merrill |
Shiu-Ying Hu,
Life
Hu was born in 1910 to a farm family in a Chinese village near the city of
After earning her Ph.D., Hu worked as a research botanist at the
Death
On 22 May 2012, Hu died at the age of 102 from kidney failure caused by pneumonia at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin, Hong Kong.[2][5]
Tree Song
John Williams attributes his piece Tree Song for Violin and Orchestra in a large part to Hu. The first movement of the piece is entitled "Dr. Hu and the Meta-Sequoia".[3] He described the following experience in his note for the premiere in 2000:
During our stroll we casually paused in front of a large tree that I hadn't looked at closely enough to recognize immediately. Pointing to the tree, Dr. Hu explained that this tree was the oldest metasequoia in North America and that she had planted it in the late 1940s using seeds she had brought with her from China. I was thunderstruck by this coincidence, and when I told her of “my” metasequoia in the Public Garden she informed me that the younger tree I loved so much was also one of her children.[6]
Awards and recognition
- 1962, botanist Paclt named in her honour, Shiuyinghua, which is a genus of flowering plants from Hubei belonging to the family Paulowniaceae.[7]
- 1992: Shiu-Ying Hu Award[8]
- 2001: Bronze Bauhinia Star
- 2002: Chinese University of Hong Kong Honorary Fellowship
- 2003: "Outstanding Chinese" in Success Stories produced by RTHK
- 2010: Named one of the top ten Loving Hearts of Hong Kong by ATV Home[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Prof. S.Y. Hu". Cuhk.edu.hk. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ^ a b c "University to honour its botanist 'Holly Hu'". Topics.scmp.com. 24 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ^ a b "From China to Radcliffe and Return". Radcliffe.harvard.edu. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ISBN 978-7-5349-9539-2
- ^ a b Food Plants of China; accessed 26 January 2015.
- ^ "Tree Song for Violin and Orchestra". Kennedy-center.org. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ "Shiuyinghua Paclt | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Website Template". Hollysocam.org. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. S.Y.Hu.
External links
- Condolences on death of Hu, cuhk.edu.hk; accessed 26 January 2015.
- Profile, huh.harvard.edu; accessed 26 January 2015.
- Profile, boston.com; accessed 26 January 2015.