Zijie Yan, the University of North Carolina associate professor who was fatally shot on campus Monday, is being remembered as a creative force who was generous with his time and talents in both his professional and personal life.
Yan, who taught applied physical sciences, was a sweet, “dedicated father,” who was passionate about his work, friends and former colleagues said.
“He was a quiet person with a constant smile,” Doug Chrisey, Yan’s mentor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he got his Ph.D., told NBC News. “He was a great cook, great chef. He loved to fish. And I know he loved to be with his daughters.”
Yan was shot on the Chapel Hill campus at Caudill Labs, a chemistry building. UNC’s police chief, Brian James, said at a news conference Tuesday that the armed suspect headed directly to the victim and left immediately after shooting him. The suspect, Tailei Qi, a graduate student at the school, was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a gun on educational property.
Chrisey, who has known Yan since 2006, said that over the years they had stayed in touch and that he has kept photos of Yan with his family. Their interactions were always sunny, the professor said, which made news of Yan’s death particularly shocking.
“He was a positive person and he had a great deal to offer,” Chrisey, a physics professor who’s now the chair of materials engineering at Tulane University, said. “There’s no reason why it makes sense for it to be him. I can’t imagine he ever said a cross word to me, even once.”
Yan excelled in his professional endeavors, Chrisey said, adding that while he was “aggressive” about his work, he was never competitive or political.
“He just felt like he had his own horse to ride and he was going to take the distance and not step in anybody else’s area of research,” Chrisey said. “In an academic environment, that’s also pretty unique to have someone be just so positive. I was on…
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