Chen-Ning Franklin Yang also known as Yang Zhenning, is a Chinese-born American physicist who works on statistical mechanics and particle physics. Chen-Ning Franklin Yang was born on October 1, 1922, in the city of Hefei, China. In 1944 he was awarded a master’s degree in physics for his work in statistical mechanics. He was awarded his degree by Beijing’s Tsinghua University, which had relocated to Kunming. In 1948 Yang was awarded a Ph.D. in physics for his work on nuclear reactions. From 1965 Yang was Albert Einstein professor at the Institute of Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island. During the 1970s he was a member of the board of Rockefeller University and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and, from 1978, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego. He was also on the board of Ben-Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel. He received the Einstein Award in 1957 and the Rumford Prize in 1980; in 1986 he received the Liberty Award and the National Medal of Science.