China granted its State Scientific and Technological Award in
Beijing Monday to Ye Duzheng, an atmospheric physicist, and Wu
Mengchao, a liver and gall specialist, the eighth and the ninth
Chinese scientists to win the award.
Premier Wen Jiabao announced the decision to issue the award to
prominent scientists at China's Fourth National Conference on
Science and Technology, which opened here Monday morning.
Ye and Wu were each awarded 5 million yuan (about US$600,000) at
the awarding ceremony.
Ye was born in 1916, the same year China began keeping a climate
record. The 90-year-old Chinese scientist was the first person to
stress the importance of the Tibetan Plateau, the world's largest
highland with a spread over an area of 2.5 millionsquare km and an
average height over 4,500 meters, as a heat source in summer and a
cold source in winter.
The monograph by Ye and his research group on the meteorology of
the plateau is widely considered a major contribution to the
understanding of the general atmosphere circulating over Asia.
The professor also extended his studies to include the general
circulation over the whole northern hemisphere and published one of
the world first research papers on the dynamics of the general
circulation.
Ye received in 2004 the top prize from World Meteorological
Organization, the highest meteorological award worldwide.
Wu, liver and gall specialist and academician of the CAS, served
as vice president and deputy director of Society of Surgeryof
Chinese Medical Association, vice president of Sino-German Medical
Association, president of Sino-Japanese Society of Surgeryof
Digestive Tract and member of International Association of
Surgery.
As the founder of China's liver and gall surgery, Wu received
such prizes as Medical Science Award of Chen Jia-Geng, Medical
Sciences Award by Ho Leung and Ho Lee Foundation, and titled
modelmedical specialist by Central Military Commission.
Since the award was established in 2000, nine Chinese scientists
have received the 5-million-yuan top award, including Chinese
hybrid rice developer Yuan Longping, mathematician Wu Wenjun and IT
expert Wang Xuan.
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(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2006)