BEIJING—Mao Guangjun seemed destined for scientific stardom. In September 2001, the 32-year-old theoretical physicist, just home after a postdoc stint in Japan, signed a 3-year contract as a full professor with the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. However, his personal and professional life soon soured, and in 2004, IHEP declined to renew his contract. He landed a position at another university but would never report for duty: On 14 September 2005, Mao, 36, jumped to his death from the fourth floor of his apartment complex. Although academic stresses weighed on Mao, family members and colleagues told Science, no one can say for certain whether those pressures caused him to take his own life; he did not leave a suicide note.
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