(File photo of Nan Rendong)

Nan Rendong, chief scientist with the world's largest radio telescope project, died on Friday night at the age of 72, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

As the founding father of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), Nan had been in charge of the project since 1994, and most of the project's core members were Nan's students.

Nan was diagnosed with lung cancer before FAST was put into use in September 2016, and he continued his duties despite his illness. His colleagues said that Nan's spirit reflected his pet phrase: "Refuse to be average."

(The night scene of FAST. Photo/ Pingtang County government)

FAST is located in southwest China's Guizhou Province. It was independently developed by China and will be conducive to investigating the universe.