qian xuesen, or hsue-shen tsien (; 11 december 1911 – 31 october 2009), was a chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering cybernetics. recruited from mit, he joined theodore von karman's group at caltech. during wwii, he was involved in the manhattan project, which ultimately led to the successful development of the first atomic bomb in america. later on, he would eventually return to china, where he would make important contributions to china's missile and space program.