Pan Ziqiang, a leading Chinese physicist and expert on protection from radiation, died on Wednesday at the age of 85, China National Nuclear Corp said last week.

The State-owned conglomerate said on Thursday that Pan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary director of the company's science and technology commission, died of illness at a hospital in Beijing. The company paid its respects to the scientist, expressed condolences to his family, and sent employees to assist with funeral arrangements, it said.

Born in June 1936 in Yiyang, Hunan province, Pan was a diligent student at primary and middle school and enrolled at Wuhan University's department of physics in 1953. In 1956, he was transferred to Peking University's department of technical physics as part of the government's special talent training program.

After graduation, Pan started his scientific career at the former institute of atomic energy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was later renamed the China Institute of Atomic Energy, and gradually moved up through the professional ranks there.

In his academic positions, he made major contributions to research and development on radiation protection, inventing multiple monitoring technologies and methods that were used in China's nuclear weapons development and nuclear power programs.

In the early 1980s, Pan was appointed deputy director and then director of the former ministry of nuclear industry's bureau for workplace safety, environmental protection and health.

When China National Nuclear Corp replaced the ministry in 1988, he was named head of the company's department of workplace safety, environmental protection and health. He later became deputy head of the company's science and technology commission.

Pan was a leading figure in the nation's research on radioactive waste management, natural environmental radioactivity and radiation in nuclear industry workplaces.

He played an important role in the establishment of China's nuclear emergency response system and wrote several books on the topic.

Pan was awarded multiple national- and ministerial-level awards in science and technology and was a recipient of the Nuclear Industry Contribution Medal, the highest honor in China's nuclear industry.