For the first time since 1999, when China started its National Scientific and Technological (S&T) award system, the top prizes for natural science and technological invention in 2006 were given simultaneously yesterday.
It shows that China's innovation capability has achieved remarkable progress, said Hu Xiaojun, director of the State S&T Awarding Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Between 1999 and 2005, the top prize was granted only in 2002 and 2003, reflecting the lack of original innovation in basic science, Hu said.
Altogether 327 technological inventions and projects got the State S&T awards for 2006, such as the National Supreme S&T Award, the National S&T Progress Award, the National Technological Invention Award and the National Natural Science Award.
In addition, two foreign scientists, from the United Kingdom and Sweden, were awarded the International S&T Cooperation Award for their "contribution to the progress of S&T in China".
While the 5-million-yuan ($649,350) Supreme S&T Award, which went to Li Zhensheng, the 76-year-old researcher on wheat, attracted the most attention, the National Natural Science Award reflected the basic scientific innovation capacity of the country, science policy researchers said.
The first prize for the 2006 natural science award went to two physics technologies, with the dielectric superlattice, developed by Nanjing University, getting the top prize. The technology can split a laser beam into three or more beams, enabling one device to play the role of three devices.
Lu Yalin, a member of the Nanjing University research team, said the technology could not only dramatically lower costs of laser equipment, but also form a wide application for laser because it can produce more laser wavelengths. "At present, a laser projector needs three laser emitters to work together for a film, but with our technology, only one is needed."
The technology can be used in future to analyze ingredients of various materials more efficiently by emitting laser signals and measuring them bouncing back.
A technology to accurately measure special forms was given the top prize for technological invention.
A total of 85 research projects and technologies won the 2006 National Natural Science Awards and the 2006 National Technological Invention Awards, compared to 78 in the previous year. Technologies to increase the output and quality of farm products and to shift waste for biofuel production took the lion's share of the awards.
The first prize of the National S&T Progress Award was given to the research team of the Fighter Jet-10, which has boosted China's air force.
Hu said more than 75 percent of the researches were done in just over five years, with the rest being conducted over the past 10-odd years. The dielectric superlattice technology, for instance, took 19 years to develop.
"The long-time pursuit of research means China's science environment has improved," Hu told CCTV.
(China Daily 02/28/2007 page2)
