9311472 Chang Tsien Hsue-shen came to the United States from China in 1935 in order to study aerodynamics at Caltech under Theodore von Karman. During the McCarthy period of the Cold War, Tsien was falsely accused of being a Communist spy and was forced to return to China in 1955. He brought back to his homeland all the skills he had learned in the US and became the lead rocket scientist for the Chinese military. Under his guidance, China developed its own ballistic missiles capable of carrying warheads to destroy targets throughout Asia. Ms. Chang is undertaking a study of this "Father of the Chinese Missile" both in the US and in China. Ms. Chang's study of Tsien's life promises to shed new light on the history of the development of nuclear missiles in both the US and China and to illuminate some of the worldwide consequences of McCarthyism. Her study also includes an account of the turbulent relationship between science and politics of the 20th century through the analysis of scientific mentorship of three generations of world-class aerodynamicists--Ludwig Prantl who taught von Karman in Germany who taught Tsien in the US. Prantl disowned von Karman, a Jew, in Nazi Germany. In turn, von Karman failed Tsien when he was attacked by the McCarthyites. Tsien, following his mentors, denounced his students during the Cultural Revolution of 1965. ***
