E-tu Zen Sun

The eldest daughter of Chen Hengzhe and H. C. Zen, she was born in Beijing. She arrived in the United States in 1941 and attended Vassar. She completed her PhD at Radcliffe under the supervision of John King Fairbank, on some of whose projects she also collaborated.

She was professor for many years at Pennsylvania State University, until retirement in 1988. She also served as president of the American Association of University Women State College from 1959 to 1961. With her husband Shiou-chuan Sun, a professor of engineering with a mining specialty, she produced the first English translation of Tiangong Kaiwu. This was the first time the work appeared in a European language.