1238 Nominees, 169 Selected: Shi Zhengli and Nieng Yan Among New Academicians

On the same day, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced the list of valid candidates for the 2023 academician selection.

On the morning of August 31st, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering separately issued announcements, declaring the completion of the recommendation and nomination process for new academicians in 2023. The number of valid candidates is 583 for the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 655 for the Chinese Academy of Engineering, totaling 1238 individuals. Currently, a total of 538 candidates have been announced by both academies, with 621 from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a combined total of 1159 individuals. In addition, there are a total of 79 individuals recommended through special fields or channels: 45 from special recommendation areas and 34 from special channels. However, specific names have not been disclosed.

Paper Technology discovered that the youngest candidate on the aforementioned list is from the post-80s generation.

According to previous reports by The Paper, the total number of newly elected academicians in 2023 for both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering will not exceed 169. Among them, there will be a total of 79 new academicians elected for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023. The total number of new academicians elected for the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2023 will not exceed 90. On May 31st, both the official websites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering released announcements or notices regarding “Guidelines for Academicians’ Election,” “Recommendation or Nomination of Relevant Candidates for Academicians,” and “Recommendation or Nomination of Relevant Foreign Candidates for Academicians.” This marks the start of the academicians’ election process for 2023.

According to the above calculations, approximately 13.65% of the 1238 valid candidates will be elected as academicians. Among them, approximately 13.55% of the 583 valid candidates in the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ additional election in 2023 will be elected as CAS academicians. Approximately 13.74% of the 655 valid candidates in the Chinese Academy of Engineering’s additional election in 2023 will be elected as CAE academicians.

In the list of valid candidates for the 2023 election of Chinese Academy of Sciences academicians, the youngest candidate is Chang Chao, who is 39 years old (at the time of recommendation). He is a candidate from the Department of Mathematics and Physics. His affiliated institution is the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Research Institute at the Military Science Academy. His recommender is physicist Li Jiaming, a member (academician) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to public information, Chang Chao was born in April 1983 in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. He is the chief scientist and expert in the field of terahertz biology at the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Special Zone. Currently, he serves as the Deputy Director of the Frontier Interdisciplinary Center and Director of the Terahertz Research Laboratory at the Academy of Military Science’s National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Research Institute. He is also a researcher. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology. He graduated from Tsinghua University in 2006 and obtained his Ph.D. degree from Tsinghua University in 2011. In 2013, he completed his postdoctoral work at Stanford University in the United States. Received the Chen Jia Geng Youth Science Award in Information Technology Science in 2018.

SEE ALSO: Chinese Scientist Nieng Yan Assigned as Director of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory

According to a report from China Youth Daily, Chang Chao, at the age of 35, became the first author to receive the National Natural Science Second Prize. However, for quite some time, Chang Chao’s academic achievements in terahertz biophysics were “zero,” but this stage was also a period of accumulating strength. After several years, Chang Chao and his team’s achievements have been explosively published in internationally renowned journals such as Nature, PNAS, and JACS, causing a huge sensation. At this point, Chang Chao’s gaze has already turned towards further horizons: “Our goal is to become an international center for terahertz biophysics research.

In the list of valid candidates for the 2023 election of academicians announced by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the youngest candidate is Zhou Rongbin, who is 43 years old. He is a candidate from the Medical and Health Sciences Division of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and his affiliated institution is the University of Science and Technology of China. He was recommended by Chen Zhinan, an expert in cell biology and biotechnological drugs as well as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

According to public information, Zhou Rongbin, male, was born in May 1980 and is from Hengyang, Hunan. He has a postgraduate degree and a doctoral degree. He started working in March 2011. Currently, he is a professor and doctoral supervisor. He is the leader of an innovative group funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), as well as being recognized as a “National Distinguished Young Scholar” and the project leader for key research and development programs by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Director of the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and also holds the position of Executive Dean at the School of Basic Medical Sciences. His main research focuses on innate immune recognition, regulation, and disease intervention in sterile inflammation.

In addition, Nieng Yan, 45 years old, is a valid candidate for the selection of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023 (Division of Life Sciences and Medicine). His affiliated institutions are Tsinghua University and Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), with Professor Senfang Sui from Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences as his recommender.

58-year-old Shi Zhengli, known as the “virus hunter,” is a valid candidate for the 2023 Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician Election (Division of Life Sciences and Medicine). She works at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and her recommender is Academician Shu Hongbing.

According to public information, Dr. Shi Zhengli is the head researcher and director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Wuhan Institute of Virology. She currently serves as the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, deputy director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory (Level 4), director of Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, chairman of the Biosafety Committee, and head researcher in the field of emerging viruses. She has been engaged in pathogen research on emerging viruses for a long time and has extensive research experience in the pathogenesis, molecular epidemiology, and infection mechanisms of viruses transmitted by wildlife.