Remembering Mr. Bertrand Hsu
纪念徐大宏先生
The Full & Amazing Life of Bertrand Hsu (English Video)
Bertrand Hsu Obituary
Bertrand “Bert” Hsu, age 86, of San Francisco died peacefully at his home on Thursday, February 6, 2020. He was surrounded by his wife of 65 years, Jane, his daughter Ann, and his grandsons Zack and Alex.
Bert was born on February 25, 1933 in Shanghai, China, the son of Pearl Sung and Edward Hsu. His family moved to the United States for two years (1946-48) during which time Bert attended schools in New York City and Washington D.C. After returning to Shanghai and finishing high school, Bert decided to go to college in Beijing in 1950, to join the revolution and help build a new China! In the meantime, his parents had gone back to America. In Beijing, Bert enrolled in Yanching (燕京) University to study physics and engineering. When Yanching dissolved in 1952, Bert was moved to Tsinghua (清华) University where he majored in automotive engineering.
Bert graduated from Tsinghua University in 1953 and stayed on to teach and continue graduate studies. He later became assistant lecturer and lecturer. In 1958 he led a group of students to design and build a mini-car that was intended to replace human pedicabs on the streets of Beijing. This project got the personal attention and support of Premier Zhou Enlai and was awarded national recognition in 1960. Bert continued to work on other projects that contributed to the automotive industry in China. In 1978, he was promoted from lecturer to become the youngest full-professor in China, skipping the assistant professor step.
After living through multiple political movements under Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party and trying to make progress professionally to contribute to building the new China, Bert finally left China in 1979 for the United States to join his aging parents. He found work at General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania and worked there for 19 years from 1979 to 1998. He had many professional accomplishments during this period including winning the Outstanding Engineer Award across all of GE in 1984, leading and overseeing two DOE multi-million dollar projects on combustion engine technology, publishing over 30 technical papers and receiving 5 patents. Not only was Bert a brilliant engineer, he was also a warm and encouraging manager. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing bridge at the local ACBL club and received Life Master status.
After retiring from GE, Bert and his wife moved to San Francisco to be closer to their children. They spent the next 20 years traveling around the world, visiting old friends and enjoying their grandchildren. Bert also wrote and published a book, “Practical Diesel-Engine Combustion Analysis,” ensuring that others in this field can build on his work to further the profession. He also wrote down his life story for his children and grand-children.
Bert was intelligent, hard-working, humorous, and humble. He respected and got along with everyone from high level cadres to students, from GE executives to lab technicians. No matter what difficult situation he found himself in, he never complained, was always optimistic and worked diligently to improve himself. His resilience led him to live an amazing life full of adventure, learning and accomplishments. Bert loved his family, his profession and the countries where he lived.
Bert is survived by his wife Jane Hsu, his daughter Ann Hsu and husband Tom Chin, his daughter-in-law Echo Hsu, and his grandchildren Benjamin, Crystal, Zackery and Alexander.
The Full & Amazing Life of Bertrand Hsu (English Video)
徐大宏先生讣告及生平
徐大宏先生因心脏衰竭医治无效，于二零二零年二月六日下午四时在美国旧金山的家所逝世, 享年八十六岁。去世时妻子，女儿和两位外孙在侧。
徐大宏于一九三三年二月二十五日出生于中国上海，祖籍安徽歙县。祖父徐谦是前清旧科举翰林，民国后曾任大理院正卿、司法部次长、庚子赔款委员会主任委员等职，并长期跟随孙中山先生献身革命多年。
徐大宏一九四六至四八年跟随父母去美国，在纽约市和华盛顿特区上初中。一九四八年底又随父母回到上海，在世界学校上完高中。当时（一九四九年）新中国刚成立。一九五零年他的父母又要回美国，但他没有跟随而决定留在中国想为建设新中国服务。他选择较为进步的北京燕京大学。
徐大宏于一九五零年考入燕京大学物理系。在校时曾参加棒球队，话剧团，并在学生会体育部工作。一年后转入机械系。一九五二年院系调整后并入清华大学动力系学习。一九五三年毕业后留清华大学任教，历任助教，讲师及教授，并完成在职研究生学习。一九五八年起，他参加了北京市微型出租汽车科研小组的技术领导工作，前后历时七年。此项研究工作获得周恩来总理亲自关心和赞许，多次召见小组并给与指示。一九六零年此项目被评为全国文教群英会获奖项目。一九六二年徐大宏作为青年教师代表，被选为全国青年联合会第五届全国委员。一九七一年清华机械厂开始研制一种车用高速柴油机，他是研制组主力之一，并由此开始从整车研发转到内燃机研发。十年文革动乱后，一九七八年在清华被破格越级提拔为正教授。
一九七九年徐大宏获准赴美与年迈父母团聚。同年参加美国通用电气公司 (General Electric Co.) 运输系统部工作。历任柴油机燃烧工程师，水煤浆柴油机科研组主研究员，课题经理和柴油机发展部经理。在 GE 工作期间他创建了柴油机燃烧实验室，完成多项产品设计改进工作。由此一九八四年他被授予 GE 总公司级杰出技术贡献奖。一九八五年徐大宏组建了用水煤浆为燃料的柴油机研究小组，在美国最早突破了燃烧技术，为此赢得美国政府能源部2200万美元的研究经费竞标。徐大宏在该课题中担任了主研究员及课题经理，负责全面的技术和行政领导工作，前后历时9年。在GE工作期间，徐大宏发表科研学术论文三十余篇，涉及的学术机构有美国机械工程师学会 (ASME)，汽车工程学会 (SAE)，国际内燃机学会 (CIMAC)，英国机械工程学会 (I. Mech. E.) 以及其他专业专题组织。他也曾先后获得美国机械工程学会授予的最佳年度论文奖，美国机械工程学会内燃机分会颁发的机械/内燃机工程杰出贡献奖，也获得五项美国专利。
徐大宏于一九九八年从 GE 退休之后与妻子及家庭一起旅游走访世界各地的同时，他完成和出版了有关柴油机燃烧 “Practical Diesel-Engine Combustion Analysis” 一书。二零零四年他也曾作为顾问和访问教授受聘于清华大学工作一年。徐大宏一生热爱桥牌，退休后更是打桥牌乐此不彼，并先后获得了美国桥牌协会的 “Life Master” 和 “Silver Life Master” 的称号。
徐大宏天资聪颖、努力学业、工作认真负责、待人接物、谦虚谨慎、平宜近人、幽默风趣。无论处于何种境地，徐大宏都乐观对待人生，从不言弃，努力前行。特别使他身边人印象深刻的是，即使在他去世前的生病期间，他表现出的坚强以及他仍然以他一贯的精神和幽默与病痛奋争不止。
徐大宏先生身后健在的亲属有：他的妻子，女儿，女婿，儿媳，孙子，孙女和两个外孙。
berthsumemorial.com 