China Presents Top Awards to Outstanding Scientists

Xu Guangxian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a winner of China's 2008 Top State Scientific and Technological Award.

China's 2008 Top State Scientific and Technological Awards went to neurologist Wang Zhongcheng and chemist Xu Guangxian, for their outstanding contributions to technological innovation.

Wang Zhongcheng, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, graduated from Peking University's Center of Health Science in 1950. A pioneer in Chinese neurosurgery, he initiated the examination of cerebral angiography in the 1950s, and penned the monograph "Cerebral Angiography," which signaled a great improvement in Chinese diagnostic techniques in neurosurgery. He also initiated micro-neurosurgery in China. As one of the most experienced specialists in the world in cerebral vascular malformation therapy, he has performed 1,000 intracranial aneurysm operations. In the 1980s, he took the lead in clinical and basic research in brain stem tumors and intramedullary tumor therapy. He performed nearly 1,000 of these operations, making him a leading world surgeon in terms of both quality and quantity.

Xu Guangxian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has played an important role in understanding the chemistry of rare earth in China. He has systematically studied the chemical and physical properties of rare earth found in China, and has developed several separation and extraction methods. He graduated from the Chemistry Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1944. In 1951, he was awarded a Ph.D. by Columbia University in the U.S. He has long been engaged in teaching and research in physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry, which involves the fields of quantum chemistry, chemical bond theory, coordination chemistry, extraction chemistry, nuclear fuel chemistry and rare-earth science.