2 famed scientists enlisted by CAS

Nobel laureate C.N. Yang and Turing Award winner Yao Qizhi have become Chinese citizens and officially joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences as academicians - the highest academic title in China, the academy's faculty office said on Tuesday.

They are the first overseas scientists to relinquish their US citizenship to join the official faculty of China's highest scientific research organization. Yang, 94, will join the mathematical physics department, while Yao, 70, will enter the information technology and science department.

"They are both world renowned scholars," the office said in a statement. "Their entry into the academy's faculty will increase the influence of China's scientific circles worldwide."