TWO Chinese scientists, physicist Xie Jialin and architect Wu Liangyong, won China’s top science and technology award yesterday.

    Both are members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wu is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Each received the State Top Scientific and Technological Award and a bonus of 5 million yuan (US$794,900) at a ceremony held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

    President Hu Jintao delivered certificates to the two top scientists.

    China has been offering annual awards to elite scientists and researchers since 2000.

    Xie, 91, studied at Yanching University in China and California Institute of Technology in the United States, where he obtained a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He returned to China in 1955.

    In his decades of research, Xie has made outstanding achievements in the fields of accelerator physics, accelerator technology and free electron lasers.

    Wu, 89, gained a master’s degree in architecture and urban design from Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States. He then committed himself to city planning, architectural design and landscape planning, as well as teaching and scientific research.

    Three scientists from Japan and five others, from Germany, France, Britain, the United States and Australia, won the International Cooperation Award in Science and Technology.(Xinhua)