Scientist father 'always reading and thinking'

China's top science award was presented on Friday to nuclear physicist Yu Min, whose work led to a major breakthrough in the country's hydrogen bomb research.

Yu, 89, a native of Tianjin, earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Peking University in 1949 and then con-ducted postgraduate research at the school's Department of Physics. He also served as a teaching assistant.

He entered the Modern Physics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and began to study atomic nuclear physics theory in 1951. To address the country's strategic needs, Yu began to conduct theoretical research on nuclear weapons in 1961.