Twenty young female scientists and five scientific teams researching various fields were awarded for major breakthroughs on Saturday by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).

At a ceremony hosted by the ACWF and CAST, Shen Yueyue, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the ACWF, encouraged female scientists to bear in mind fundamental national interests and people's concern.

Shen called on them to achieve breakthroughs in original and pioneering scientific and technological research and brave and tackle bottleneck problems in key and core technologies to enhance the country's self-reliance and strength in science and technology.

Numerous breakthroughs

The 20 young female scientists achieved major breakthroughs in areas including 5G technology, quantum science, AI development on the memory mechanism of an artificial neural network, intelligent design optimization and application of an aircraft system, regenerative medicine for diabetes, biodiversity protection, paleontology, bio-based materials and green paper making, efficient storage of renewable clean energy, hydrogen technology, integrated circuit, and basic and clinical research on improving female reproductive health and preventing birth defects.

Among them those recognized was Zhang Jianhua, professor and vice dean, School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, who developed a high-precision multidimensional channel model reflecting Chinese landform, which became a mandatory model for 5G international standards. 

With long-term research of cryptographic basic theory and application technology, the "Fan-Han" method was proposed by Fan Shuqin, professor, Beijing Institute of Information Science and Technology, to solve a number of internationally famous conjecture and problems in cryptographic basic theory, achieving significant innovations in the whole process of anti-quantum cryptographic basic theory, algorithm design and analysis and evaluation.

Meanwhile, a new mechanism by which microorganisms depend on minerals for energy in extreme environments has been developed by Liu Juan, a professor at Peking University's College of Environmental Science and Engineering, and the problem of prevention and control of plant virus diseases was explored from two aspects of basic theory and application technology by Li Fangfang, a researcher, at the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 

In addition, the five scientific teams honored made breakthroughs in areas including air quality forecast and early warning, cardiac function reconstruction, and organic optoelectronic materials and device innovation. 

701st Research Institute CSICof China Ship Research and Design Center is recognized for innovating and breaking through nearly 100 key technologies of hull structure design, and CAST Xi'an, a subsidiary of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) within China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), successfully developed China's first space-based rubidium atomic clock. 

Since 2004, 184 Chinese female scientists and researchers have been awarded, according to the ACWF.