Zhang Qin, vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology, presided over the 11th China Female Scientist Awards ceremony on Friday, where 10 women were awarded for their outstanding achievements in the field.
The event recognizes a maximum of 10 recipients on an annual basis and, as a minimum, one winner must be from west China.
According to China's former vice minister of education Wei Yu, the judging panel consisted of 37 academics who chose the award winners from 183 candidates. The 2015 award recipients are Chen Chunying, Yu Xiang, Huang Ru, Jia Weihua, Liao Hong, Duan Huiling, Li Yongping, Chen Xuefei, Li Yingxian and Liu Jianni.
The achievements of the sector were also praised in addition to the exceptional individuals. Over 2,000 women scientists, who form China's scientific industry, were mentioned by Vice President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) Song Xiuyan, who also spoke highly of the award-winning scientists.
Song is also the First Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF and conveyed an inspirational sentiment through her talk. The female leader described the 10 acknowledged women as exceptional, and encouraged the nation to see them as representatives of a benchmark, whereby women scientists are encouraged to aim for high-level success in their particular area of work.
The 10 award winners addressed over 100 senior female high school students following the ceremonial period of Monday's event. The students were given the opportunity to ask questions, while the awarded women promoted science degrees, a discipline which they described as beautiful, in addition to providing answers.
The ceremony was attended by a lengthy list of prominent members of the science-related communities that included Vice Executive President of the China Association for Science and Technology Shang Yong and Vice President Shen Yan; Abdo Malac, the Vice Consul of the French Embassy in China; and Vice President of L'Oreal, China Lan Zhenzhen.
Launched in 2004, the China Female Scientist Awards was jointly established by the ACWF, the China Association for Science and Technology, the China National Commission for UNESCO and L'Oreal China in recognition of outstanding Chinese women from the fields of basic and life sciences. All recipients are younger than 45 years old.