How an amputee Chinese scientist is fortifying the country’s military software

Much of the global debate on Chinese military power focuses on hardware but a vital part of the modernisation process is in the niche field of software verification. Wang Ji, a computer science researcher at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), is mentoring a new generation of scientists to treat the software code in national defence systems with the same precision as doctors diagnosing patients. After losing both legs to a life-threatening emergency, Wang, 56, has stayed at the forefront of China’s military modernisation, leading efforts to secure the complex software underpinning the country’s most strategic defence assets. For his efforts, Wang was last week awarded the title of “role model of the times” by the Communist Party’s publicity department, adding to his recognition last year as a self-improvement role model with disabilities. In a profile aired last week, state broadcaster CCTV described Wang as someone on the “vanguard of research” who never stops charging forward. “High-reliability software is like a doctor,” Wang told the official Science and Technology Daily last week. “It performs a ‘CT scan’ on the software systems of major military equipment, performing a full-body scan and a precise diagnosis to identify deeply hidden bugs and risks.” The technology Wang specialises in relies on mathematical logic to verify the correctness of code at the fundamental compiler level. And the field has become increasingly critical as software reliability becomes a central element of strategic competition between global powers. Wang’s commitment to the field goes back decades, beginning in 1983 as a precocious 13-year-old first-year university student at NUDT. Upon learning that China had developed its first supercomputer, the “Yinhe-1”, or Galaxy-1, at the university, Wang said he realised that computer science was a field that connected directly to the nation’s pulse. Wang went on to do postgraduate studies under Yinhe-1 pioneer Chen Huowang. During his application interview with Chen, Wang said he enjoyed studying compiler principles, citing the appeal of the power of using mathematical logic to reach practical outcomes. Wang’s first test came in 1999 when he was invited to take part in a reliability assessment for critical aerospace software. The stakes were global. Just three years earlier, the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5 rocket had disintegrated less than 40 seconds after launch because of errors in its software design. After completing the project, Wang thought “technology drives the times forward, and the country and the military will definitely have an increasing demand for software, especially complex information systems”. “Their security and reliability will also become increasingly important,” he recalled. This realisation drove Wang to propose the concept of high-reliability software technology, which applies mathematical logic to verify the internal integrity of software code at the fundamental compiler level. His vision was codified in 2003, when he and Chen co-authored a paper on high-reliability software engineering technology, one of China’s first foundational research documents in the field. But a decade later, Wang had a major health scare. In January 2013, he suffered a sudden aortic dissection, a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency. Following a 13-hour surgery to save his life, complications led to the amputation of his legs. At the time, Wang was at the peak of his career: he had become a professor by age 33 and a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars by 38. The psychological toll of the disability was immense. However, a conversation with his mother proved a turning point. “There are plenty of people who are disabled but not discouraged,” he said his mother told him during a phone call. “If you can’t face it, people will just sigh and say, ‘what a pity for this child’. But if you can face it, everyone will help you and give you a push.” Wang embraced his mother’s advice, comparing his recovery to a computer that had crashed. “After a system crash, you press the reset button, and perhaps it will restart,” he said. With the support of his research team at NUDT, Wang returned to work in 2015 and applied to lead a major national defence project on an unspecified software engineering technology for the military. He continued to travel for meetings as chief scientist, developing the technology and mentoring young scientists even as other health challenges emerged, including kidney failure that requires dialysis three times a week. In 2025, the software technology Wang developed won the first prize of the Military Science and Technology Progress Award and has been applied to various important equipment. For the NUDT team, Wang’s presence in the laboratory serves as a benchmark for persistence. “As long as my mind is still sharp and my hands can still move, I will not stop,” he said.

How an amputee Chinese scientist is fortifying the country’s military software

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}After life-threatening emergency, researcher returns to help make the code behind weapons and defence equipment free of bugs

After life-threatening emergency, researcher returns to help make the code behind weapons and defence equipment free of bugs