Botanist devoted life to research and education

The scientific community was shocked by the death of eminent botanist Zhong Yang, a scholar who promoted the development of the Tibet autonomous region and a dedicated professor of biological science.

Zhong passed away in a car accident on Sept 25 at the age of 53. On Dec 9, he was posthumously recognized as an "outstanding communist" by the Standing Committee of Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Zhong dedicated himself to frontier ecological research and education for 33 years, specializing in biodiversity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, after graduating from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1984.