The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), announced on Nov. 18 that 84 scientists had been elected as new CAE academicians and 65 scientists had been elected as new CAS academicians.
Among the new members, 16 are from Jiangsu Province, the second highest after Beijing. Jiangsu is now home to 118 CAE and CAS academicians, the highest among provincial regions in the country.
The new academicians are from universities, research institutes and enterprises in Jiangsu. Their research fields cover astronomy, physics, chemistry, life sciences and medicine, information and electronic engineering, civil engineering, water resources and architectural engineering, and agriculture.
Membership of the CAS and CAE, two top academic institutions, is China's highest academic title in science and engineering, and it is a lifelong honor. New members are selected every two years.
In recent years, more and more members from the coastal province won the recognition. Furthermore, Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, has 14 academicians, second highest among cities in China. Eleven new members are from universities, including 3 from Southeast University and 2 each from Nanjing University and Nanjing University of Technology.
Among the 16 new members, Shi Shengcai, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory, is a well-known expert of terahertz high-sensitivity superconducting detectors who has made key contribution to the field’s research and application. His research outcome has been applied in the 13.7m millimeter-wave radio telescope and will also be used in the country’s space telescope.
As a new CAS academician, Professor Teng Gaojun of Southeast University is behind the breakthrough of interventional radiology in China. He has recently led the first surgery to treat liver cancer in China using tiny glass beads filled with the radioactive isotope yttrium Y-90.
Professor Shen Qirong of Nanjing Agricultural University learned of becoming an academician when he was leading a research team on fruit trees fertilizing. Shen often calls for young researchers to align their work with needs of the county and the society and always keep in mind the scientific approach. Shen said it’s important for the society and university to support innovation by tolerating failures in research attempts and allowing researchers to be committed to their efforts.
As a female scientist, Professor Chi Lifeng of the Functional Nano & Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM) at Soochow University said the honor will encourage her to continue to focus on the basic research.