42 significant contributors honored medals and titles


Nan Rendong, scientist, born February 1945, died September 2017
Nan was the founder of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) project, which helps humans to explore the universe and search for extraterrestrial civilizations. An asteroid has been named after him, with approval from the International Astronomical Union.

Gu Fangzhou, medical scientist, born June 1926, died January 2019
Former CAMS and PUMC president Gu Fangzhou developed China's first polio vaccines, perhaps most notablty the Sugar Ball attenuated oral vaccine first created in 1959. A countrywide immunization strategy eradicated the indigenous polio strain by 1994. Poliomyelitis has since been effectively controlled, with China being declared polio-free by the World Health Organization in October 2000.
- Strategic new mineral type established
- Astronomers' dark energy breakthrough sheds new light on cosmic accelerated expansion
- China-led telescope project secures global partners for cutting-edge cosmic research
- Beijing on high alert for extreme winds
- Registration rules eased to encourage marriages
- Drier lunar far side offers insight on moon's evolution