major research activities include; the intrinsic theory of plates and shells, the analysis of large deflection of thin plates and shells, the analysis of corrugated pipes, mechanics of armour penetration, singular perturbation methods, variational principles and generalized variational principles, finite element methods as well as the measurements of atmospheric electricity, spectral analysis of rare-earth elements, wave guide theory, lubrication theory, the development of high-energy batteries, his macro-coding of Chinese characters, etc. The joint work with J. L. Synge on the intrinsic theory of plates and shells is considered as a pioneering classical work in solid mechanics and his successive approximation method of treating large deflection problem is now named as "Chien's method". And he initiated a novel singular perturbation method, the method of composite expansions. He had published in academic monographs and hundreds of scientific papers. Due to his work on the problems of large deflation of circular elastic plates and the generalized variational principles, he won the State Natural Science Award (Second Class) twice, in 1965 and 1982. He also made great contribution to the engineering applications of sciences, such as the fluttering of airplanes, the design of submarines, armour penetration, the design of instruments and panpipe systems. In the early 1980s, Qian worked with Zhou Youguang and Liu Zunqi on creating a Chinese-language edition of Encyclopædia Britannica. During his presidency of Shanghai University (formerly Shanghai University of Technology), he devoted himself to the reconstruction of the University and to the accomplishment of reforms in higher education. He believed that the key role of higher education is to bring up excellent new generations with prefect personality and advanced expertise. For this purpose, he laid emphasis on raising the academic level of the University and showed great concerns to the publication of academic journals at the University. Qian also served as chairman of the Steering Committee of the Third International Conference on Linear Mechanics in Shanghai in 1998. He died in Shanghai at 6:20AM on 30 July 2010. Awards and honors In 1965 and 1982, he won the State Natural Science Award (Second Class) twice. Asteroid 283279 Qianweichang, discovered by the PMO NEO Survey Program at Purple Mountain in 2007, was named in his memory. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 February 2020 (). References "Professor Dr. Chien Wei-zang (Qian Weichang)." Journal of Shanghai University. 2.2 (June 1998). Reprinted in Facta Universitatis. Series: Mechanics, Automatic