Chinese-Americans Held to Higher Standard

Mathematician, control theorist, and retired Harvard professor, Dr. Larry Yu-Chi Ho moved around a lot as a child, following his Nationalist Army (Guomindang) father to various places in the interior of China during WWII. (See post one.) At the end of the war, Larry and his families escaped to Taiwan. When he graduated high school at age 15, he came across the Pacific to attend MIT.  He met many helping hands along the way. (See post two and three.) He graduated, found a research position in one of the first-ever washing machine companies, and won the immigration lottery. (See post four.)

Larry and Sophia, 1959

Four years after he started doing research for Bendix, Larry decided to go back and get his doctorate. He was accepted at Harvard, and remembers being one of a few Chinese back then.

“Of course, nowadays, the Chinese-American students in top schools are way above the population average (of about 6%). Harvard is about 18% (Asian) last time I checked .”

He said that Harvard has been sued twice for discriminating against Asian students, and holding them to a higher standard than anyone else to get admitted. He admitted this was true.

“It’s a fact. I served on the Admissions Committee for both graduate and undergraduate. I know they have to jump a higher threshold.”

Yet, while he admits this negative bias takes place, he thinks that only looking at test scores isn’t the way to go.  “You want to work towards diversity of the student population. There are many dimensions. So having a perfect SAT score is only one of the 20 factors.”

Larry doesn’t agree with the students filing the lawsuit. “I think there are so many ways in the US to succeed… But Chinese think they have to get their kid into Yale or Harvard or Princeton.”

Still, Larry was fortunate to get into Harvard, and that top education influenced the rest of his career. 

“I got a graduate degree in Applied Maths, and stayed on. I was one of the few to stay on and become faculty. I was there for 45 years. I taught applied maths and engineering.”

Along with being tenured, he received many honors. In 1987 he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, the ultimate honor for a scientist. Later, he was invited to be a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Science. 

"I’ve gotten all the highest honors in my profession.”

(To be continued. Next: Influencing MIT of China)

Researcher for First Washing Machine

Mathematician, control theorist, and retired Harvard professor, Dr. Larry Yu-Chi Ho moved around a lot as a child, following his Nationalist Army (Guomindang) father to various places in the interior of China during WWII. (See post one.) At the end of the war, Larry and his families escaped to Taiwan. When he graduated high school at age 15, he came across the Pacific to attend MIT.  He met many helping hands along the way. (See post two and three.)

Aside from the initial dorm misunderstanding, Larry didn’t have problems adjusting. Well, perhaps the language was sometimes confusing. But since his main language was math and physics, he sailed along well. 

Upon his university graduation, he decided he needed to earn some money. So he took a job as a researcher in Detroit.

“I worked for a company that no longer exists called Bendix Aviation Corp.  It’s an old automatic washing machine, one of the very famous products in 40’s and 50’s.” (It was the first domestic automatic washing machine on the market, and would today be considered a front-loading washing machine.)

Meanwhile, Congress passed legislation, signed into law by President Eisenhower on August 7, 1953, offering refuge to 214,000 immigrants to the United States, including 60,000 Italians, 17,000  Greeks, 17,000 Dutch and 45,000 immigrants from Communist countries. Larry was one of the 45,000. 

President Eisenhower signs Refugee Relief Act of 1953

“I lucked out and was able to qualify. I didn’t remember much about the swearing ceremony. It was over very quickly.” 

Larry didn’t think much of the ceremony until he attended a conference in Florida where he had a chance to visit the newly opened EPCOT Center. 

“At the entrance of the American Pavilion, I happen to read an inscription on the wall of the center which talked about the ceremony of becoming a US citizen. The wording goes something like this: ‘A white-haired gentlemen in black robe with a sweep of his hand relieves you of the burden of past history, and welcomes you to a thousand bright tomorrows.’ The words suddenly hit me. Tears uncontrollably start to flow down my face.”

(To Be Continued.  Next: Chinese-Americans Held to Higher Standard.)

No Vacancies

Mathematician, control theorist, and retired Harvard professor, Dr. Larry Yu-Chi Ho moved around a lot as a child, following his Nationalist Army (Guomindang) father to various places in the interior of China during WWII. (See post one.) At the end of the war, Larry and his families escaped to Taiwan. When he graduated high school at age 15, he came across the Pacific to attend MIT.  He met many helping hands along the way. (See post two.)

When Larry finally arrived in Boston, his adventure began. He asked the taxi driver to take him to a hotel where he tried to book a room. Of course, he was only sixteen--way too young--and was turned down over and over. 

Fortunately, he had a very kind taxi driver who stuck with him, and helped him locate his MIT contact. It was only then he realized that he had been assigned a place to stay: a dorm room.  The driver took him there, and Larry was so happy to find the place that he didn't leave...at least for that night. 

“I was so happy to find the dormitory room, that I just checked in and didn’t have dinner. I didn’t know where to have dinner. So I just went to sleep. “

(To be continued. Next: Researcher for First Washing Machine)

Larry Arrives in U.S. Alone at Age 16

Mathematician, control theorist, and retired Harvard professor, Dr. Larry Yu-Chi Ho moved around a lot as a child, following his Nationalist Army (Guomindang) father to various places in the interior of China during WWII. (See post one.)

At the end of the war (1945), Larry and the families returned to Shanghai, hoping to stay a while. But China  had re-engaged in their civil war between the Communists and the Guomindang. Within but a few years, Larry’s father left with the Guomindang government for Taiwan. Not long after, Father sent word for the rest of them to get out. They escaped on the last freighter leaving Shanghai.

Larry stayed in Taiwan for a couple of months before he was sent to Hong Kong to attend British Academy boarding school. Upon graduation at age 15, he prepared for yet another—much bigger move. 

“I was beginning to be good at math and science, so I applied to MIT."

How did he even know about MIT?

"Anyone who was good at math and science in China at the time heard about it."

Larry was accepted to MIT, and came across the Pacific at age 16 on his own.

Knotsberry Farm, September, 1950

"I arrived from China in the U.S. at Los Angeles on September 1, 1950. My God-sister and God-brothers (who had lived with my family in the interior during WWII,) met me. They looked after me, showed me around, drove me to San Francisco. I was able to speak in Chinese with them. It helped me with the strangeness of everything else, and my homesickness." 

Four days later, they put him on a train bound for Chicago. He would have to change trains there to get to Boston.  "For the first time, I was alone in a strange country. I had to find my own way. My English was not so good."
He whiled away the time by reading, "Etiquette," by Emily Post, hoping it would teach him how to conduct himself in America. Twelve hours later he arrived in the Chicago Union Station, one of the largest and busiest stations in the country.  How did he avoid getting lost?

Travelers" Aid

"They had Traveler's Aid stations in all the terminals, so I was able to get the directions I needed." When he arrived in Boston, Traveler's Aid' once again directed him, this time to the taxi stand. Larry made one of his first memorable attempts to speak English by saying to the taxi driver, "The traffic is very heavy."

Little did he know that his journey was far from over.

(To be continued. Next: No Vacancies.)

Harvard Professor Larry Ho From Many Places

Mathemetician, control theorist, and retired Harvard University professor at the School of Engineering and Science, Dr. Larry Yu-Chi Ho, hesitates to name just one place he is from. 

He was born in Shanghai in 1934, right before the onset of the Japanese invasion and WWII. However, as his father, Chin Woo Ho, served in Chiang Kai Chek’s government, during the war, they moved from the port city of Shanghai to the interior, one place after another. (Langchao, Xian, Congqing). “We moved around a lot. I went to five different elementary schools.”

Larry rarely saw his father, and not just because of the war. “I have a very complicated family situation. My father was dirt poor. He grew up with nothing.  But he was quite capable, I guess, and educated himself.  During the northern campaign in the war, he made great contributions. Then he became wealthy….At that time, any man who was successful had more than one wife.” Larry’s father had four. 

To be continued. Next: Larry Arrives in U.S. Alone at 16.