Robert Peichung Lin (Chinese: 林伯中; pinyin: Lín Bózhōng; January 24, 1942 – November 17, 2012) was a Chinese-born American astrophysicist.
[1] Lin remained at his PhD institution, the University of California, Berkeley, for his entire career, and was a main contributor to the success of its Space Sciences Laboratory, becoming its director.
He made major contributions to topics involving solar flares, plasma phenomena in the Earth's magnetosphere, lunar and planetary geology, heliospheric physics, and high-energy astrophysics.
In 2006, Lin was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions to the "behavior of electrons and ions accelerated by the sun, and detected the accompanying x-ray and gamma-ray emissions.
"[2] Lin suffered a sudden stroke on November 17, 2012, and died at Alta Bates Medical Center, aged 70.