Zhang Jinshui, a pioneering scientist in remote sensing who led major research and development programmes in China and was instrumental in boosting the country’s food security with satellite technologies, has died at the age of 47.
Zhang, a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Faculty of Geographical Science (FGS) at Beijing Normal University, died in Beijing on March 9 following “unsuccessful medical treatment”, according to multiple Chinese media reports.
The faculty held a memorial ceremony on March 11, but his obituary is no longer accessible on its website.
Staff told state-affiliated Jimu News that the obituary was removed from the website after the ceremony.
Several of his students have suggested that Zhang’s death may have been caused by a combination of illness and an accident.
Zhang Jinshui and his research team developed survey technologies for crop area statistics, integrating satellite, aerial and ground-based observations. Photo: Shutterstock
A former student posted on social media last Saturday that Zhang had in recent years developed a degenerative neurological disease and had died after a fall.