Obituary of Zhuangbo Tang

Dr. Zhuangbo Tang, PhD

A Life Built on Family, Education, and Courage in the Face of Adversity

(3/15/1958 - 10/7/2018)

On October 7, 2018, Zhuangbo Tang lost his life to pancreatic cancer at the age of 60, passing away peacefully in his home in Holmdel, New Jersey.

Zhuangbo was born in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, to Guojian Tang and Shuwei Mo. From an early age, Zhuangbo was academically inclined, with a strong interest in math and science.  During the Cultural Revolution he was sent to the countryside to be a student laborer.  Against all odds, Zhuangbo self-studied and aced the national placement exam, which qualified him for admission to the top ranked TsingHua University. There he majored in Hydraulic Engineering, graduating in 1982.

Zhuangbo then received a prestigious scholarship from Manchester University in England, and obtained his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1986.  Afterward, he pursued a doctorate at the University of Connecticut, where he met his wife-to-be, Angela Chiu, who was working in the same lab.  While waiting for scientific experiments to be carried out, Zhuangbo recited his favorite Chinese poems to Angela, and they fell in love.

After receiving his PhD in 1990, Zhuangbo and Angela moved to Cambridge, MA, where he did post-doctorate work in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University, while she pursued her doctorate at MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.  It was there, in Cambridge, that Zhuangbo and Angela married in 1993.  They became close with a number of fellow students, many of them immigrants like themselves, who would go on to become lifelong friends. Their marriage lasted for 25 years, until his death.

After completing his work at Harvard in 1994, Zhuangbo accepted a professorship at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Zhuangbo and Angela logged many thousands of miles traveling back and forth during this period, finally settling down in Holmdel, NJ, in 1997, where both worked as research engineers at AT&T Laboratories.  In 2001, Zhuangbo and Angela were invited to meet with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing - an honor bestowed upon them as leading Chinese-American telecommunication experts.

To the couple were born two daughters, Seehanah Tang and Serena Tang, now 16 and 14, respectively. Zhuangbo doted on his girls, showering them with kindness, patience, generosity, and love.  The virtues of family values and cultural traditions were important to him. Angela and Zhuangbo took the girls to China every summer to keep them in touch with their heritage, grandparents, and extended family.  Both girls speak Mandarin beautifully. As a father he couldn’t have asked for more.  Seehenah and Serena are kind, smart, and talented. His legacy will live on in them, and in the generations to come.

To all who knew him, Zhuangbo was a remarkably brave man.  Diagnosed with an especially aggressive form of cancer, he refused to surrender, rarely showing fear or complaining about the side effects of the toxic cancer treatments. In the hospital, he laughed and joked to cheer up those around him.  That is the kind of man he was. Zhuangbo maintained his sense of humor, calm demeanor, and optimism until the very end.

Zhuangbo is survived by his wife, Angela Chiu; daughters, Seehanah Tang and Serena Tang; father, Guojian Tang; and brother, Guangpu Tang.

Logistics:

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home on Saturday, October 13, 2018, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.  Memorial services will begin at 3:00 PM, immediately following the visitation.

Address: 100 Elton Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township, NJ 07728.

If you would like to deliver a eulogy, please call Angela Chiu at 848-565-4544.

Internet Webcast:

To watch the memorial service live (remotely), go to https://claytonfuneralhome.com/page-login/login.html?pageId=52

Username: clayton

Password: cmfh010

Note: you will need a Windows computer to access the webcast.

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唐壮波
          一个热爱家庭，注重教育，充满爱，与逆境奋斗不息的生命

(3/15/1958 - 10/7/2018)

2018年10月7号，在与胰腺癌坚强地抗争了15个月之后，唐壮波 在家人的陪伴下，于新泽西家中安然辞世，享年60岁。

唐壮波于1958年3月15日诞生在湖南，长沙。父亲唐国健，母亲 莫树伟，是家中第二个儿子。在童年他就展示出极大的好奇心 和过人的动手能力，尤其擅长理工学科。少年时的壮波，高中毕 业就加入了上山下乡的大军。在偏远的乡村近四年的知青生活 里，他靠自学，在中国恢复高考的第一年，就考取了清华大学， 进入77级水机工程系。在清华求学期间，他兴趣广泛，作为外系 学生，曾在物理系量子物理期末考试中，夺得第一名，一度传为 佳话。

从清华毕业后，壮波凭优异成绩获英国曼彻斯特科技大学的全 额奖学金，踏上留学之路。 于1986年获得工程硕士学位，辗转 来到美国康州大学继续攻读博士学位。在这里，壮波遇见他终 身之爱，邱岚，两人一见钟情。壮波时常在做实验等待结果的空 档，溜到恋人身边，为她朗读中文诗歌和小说。1990年壮波博士 毕业后，两个热爱科学的人，双双搬到麻省剑桥继续深造，壮波 在哈佛大学做博士后研究，邱岚在麻省理工就读电子工程与计 算机博士学位。

在哈佛科研3年以后，壮波接到香港科技大学的教授聘书，前往 执教。三年分别，一对新婚小夫妻把思念写满蓝天，积攒了无 数里程。邱岚导师 Dimitris Bertsimas 教授笑他们“可以飞到火星 啦”。1997年，两人一起受聘于AT&T实验室，在 Holmdel 安顿下 自己的小家庭，养育了两个美丽可爱的女儿，唐启涵和唐启沅。

壮波在工作中技术精深广博，深得同事尊重。2001年，作为华裔 通信精英，他和妻子邱岚一起，被邀请为新兴的中国通信企业咨 询，并在人民大会堂受到朱镕基总理接见。在日常生活中，壮波 不动声色的幽默，坚不可摧的乐观，平和谦虚的为人，睿智的思 维，总是为他身边的朋友和家人带来平安和快乐。

壮波是慈父之中的慈父，他从心底深深爱着两个女儿。在孩 子学业，品行，个性，思维的培养上，身体力行，细致关照，大 胆锻炼。父亲的平和，乐观和坚韧，无不闪耀在女儿们身上。大 女儿启涵16岁，学业卓越，音乐造诣也日见深厚;启沅14岁，聪 颖随和，与人轻松交往的亲和力，令人称羡。每年夏天，壮波和邱岚都不辞千里把女儿带回国，以保持她们和祖父母，大家庭，中国文化的连结。两个女儿能说一口流利的中文。

在与胰腺癌这个癌中之王抗争期间，壮波超人的乐观和勇气， 震撼了所有亲友。在每一步治疗中，他积极正面，坚定不移， 面对日渐衰退的身体和各种难以忍受的治疗副作用，他从无抱 怨，永不放弃，一直奋斗到最后一分钟，完整写下他热爱生命的 传奇。

壮波的身后，留下他的妻子邱岚，长女唐启涵，次女唐启沅，父亲唐国健，兄长唐光普。