China Daily美国版整版报道“2015年求是奖颁奖典礼”

　　9月28日，《China Daily》美国版整版推出“2015年求是奖颁奖典礼”以及“求是杰出青年学者奖”中国科大获奖人马明明的专题报道。本次颁奖典礼在中国科大先进技术研究院报告厅举行，由香港求是基金会主办、中国科大承办。

　　专版由两篇报道组成，分别是“Qiu Shi foundation acclaims scientists at USTC ceremony”（求是基金会在中国科大为科学家颁奖）和“Young USTC scholar honored for his 'exciting' discovery”（中国科大青年学者因“令人兴奋”的发现获奖）。前者以凝练的语句对内容丰富的颁奖典礼做了介绍：张亭栋教授因使用砒霜（三氧化二砷）治疗白血病这一造福人类的研究获颁“2015年度求是杰出科学家奖”，厦门大学的原核表达类病毒颗粒疫苗研究团队荣获“2015年度求是杰出科技成就集体奖”，“2015年度求是杰出青年学者奖”颁发给10位在各自领域做出亮眼成就的年轻科学家。报道引用了中国科大获奖年轻学者马明明的话来评价“求是奖”：“求是奖的特殊之处在于其非官方背景以及它的定位——官方的科学技术奖励体系的补充”。第二篇是China Daily对马明明的独家访谈。35岁的马明明此次获得3年15万美元的研究资助奖金，获奖原因是“仿生智能材料领域内出色的研究成果”。这种材料指的是2013《科学》杂志亮点报道的“水汽发动机”，能够利用空气中的湿度差产能的神奇合成材料，这种材料预期在生物医院、环境监测等领域有广阔前景。该材料的研制来源于马明明本人一次无心插柳的发现。

　　专版还以“他们说”的专栏形式摘录了典礼上嘉宾对中国科大的评价。中国科大万立骏校长转述习近平主席的评价：“中国科大是一所令人尊敬的大学”。诺贝尔奖获得者、著名物理学家杨振宁，求是科技基金会创始人査济民先生长女、基金会执委查美龙，基金会顾问、清华大学副校长施一公也都对中国科大有非常正面的评价。

　　（新闻中心）

　　附：报道全文

　　Qiu Shi foundation acclaims scientists at USTC ceremony

　　Eleven individuals and one team were recently presented with awards by the Hong Kong-based Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, the capital of East China's Anhui province.

　　An 83-year-old doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine was granted the most prestigious award. Zhang Tingdong, from the First Clinical Hospital affiliated to Harbin Medical University, received the Outstanding Scientist Award and 1 million yuan ($157,200) for his contribution to the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, a cancer that affects white blood cells, with arsenic trioxide, which the foundation called "a major breakthrough in medical science".

　　Zhang's research began in the 1970s, when he discovered that leukemia prescriptions issued by a number of experienced TCM doctors contained arsenic trioxide, which is highly toxic.

　　Later, during research and clinical trials Zhang discovered that the inorganic compound was effective in curing APL, but much more work was required to improve efficiency and reduce side effects.

　　In the 1990s, Zhang collaborated with some of the China's leading medical research institutes and succeeded in creating medicines made from arsenic trioxide and retinoic acid to treat APL. The treatments "have been long regarded by the world as standard medicines in the treatment of the disease ever since", said Shi Yigong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice-president of Tsinghua University.

　　Shi, who is also a top life scientist and an adviser to the Qiu Shi foundation, said the APL recovery rate using Zhang's treatment reached more than 90 percent, and Zhang has cured more than 1,200 leukemia patients.

　　The Outstanding Scientific Research Team Award went to the Hepatitis E Vaccine team at Xiamen University - the inventors of the world's first vaccine for recombinant hepatitis E, which went on the market in 2012.

　　Ten other scientists from seven universities and institutes received Outstanding Young Scholar Awards.

　　"The peculiarity of the Qiu Shi awards lies in its unofficial background and its role as a supplement to the official science and technology awards system", said Ma Mingming, 35, a chemistry professor at USTC.

　　Ma was recognized for his research in bio-inspired polymer composite actuator and generator driven by water gradients. He will receive $150,000 from the Qiu Shi foundation over three years to support further research.

　　The ceremony was also attended by renowned scientists such as Chen Ning Yang - a Nobel laureate in physics, and Sun Jiadong, laureate of the nation's Two Bombs, One Satellite Award.

　　Young USTC scholar honored for his 'exciting' discovery

　　A young academic at the University of Science and Technology of China was granted a top award and $150,000 for his research in multiple fields.

　　Ma Mingming, 35, a chemistry professor at USTC, was awarded the Outstanding Young Scholar Award by the Hong Kong-based Qiu Shi Science and Technology Foundation on Sept 19.

　　Ma's research covers more than one field, but his most interesting work involves a new polymer film capable of generating electricity by drawing on water vapor.

　　Ma's research into the polymer generator started five years ago when he was working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said the discovery was completely unexpected.

　　In April 2011, Ma and some MIT colleagues were working on a material that could be used to stimulate muscles in people whose nerves had been damaged or destroyed. One day, Ma picked up a thin black film that he had just synthesized to take a closer look - and to his surprise, it started writhing around.

　　Ma had accidentally designed a polymer that changed shape when exposed to trace amounts of moisture, such as a sweaty palm.

　　He reported the discovery to Robert Langer, the director of the laboratory, who believed that"this was something very different".

　　The team published a paper two years later in the journal Science, with Ma as the lead author, that explained the details of the water-responsive film, which curves, buckles and performs back flips as it absorbs water, which then evaporates.

　　"But we don't exactly know how such a material could ultimately be useful", said Ma, expressing all kinds of possibilities, including the creation of tiny amounts of energy that could power miniature devices.

　　"Harnessing this continuous motion could drive robotic limbs or generate enough electricity to power micro- and nano-electronic devices, such as environmental sensors.

　　Ma believes the advantages of the material are obvious. "With a sensor powered by a battery, you have to replace the battery periodically. If you have this device, you can harvest energy from the environment so you don't have to replace it very often," he said.

　　He also envisioned using the material as a sensor to detect water, or to perform other work, such as building artificial muscle, which could have medical uses.

　　Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute professor at MIT and senior author of the paper, in a report provided by MIT said, "We are very excited about this new material and we expect that, as we achieve higher efficiency in converting mechanical energy into electricity, it will find even wider applications."

　　Ma, who joined the Department of Chemistry at USTC in March last year, said his research into the polymer and generator will continue, but he will also keep going on in other fields, such as biocompatible conducting polymers for tissue regeneration.

　　"The $150,000 money granted by the Qiu Shi foundation over the next three years will help me a lot in my future research," he said.