PROFESSOR Li Jingzhen of Shenzhen University and Wang Tao, founder of DJI, received Shenzhen Mayor’s Awards for Science and Technology in the years 2014 and 2015.

    Each of them received 1 million yuan (US$149,900) in prize money for their contributions to scientific research and application at a ceremony Thursday.

    Li was transferred to Shenzhen University in 1993 from Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He had worked as the dean of the College of Physics and founded two majors and a master’s degree program in optics studies, which laid the foundation for education programs in optoelectronic engineering for all levels, from undergraduate to doctorate, at the university.

    Li has won a number of national and provincial awards for his research on transient photons.

    “Shenzhen is a land for innovation. I don’t think it is too much for the city to realize the miracle of reaching the top of the world in technology because the tide of scientific innovation in the city is surging,” Li said after receiving the award.

    Wang, born in 1980, is the youngest winner in the award’s history.

    “I came to seek a chance to start up a business in Shenzhen 10 years ago because Shenzhen encourages innovation. Ten years later, DJI’s drone business has taken 70 percent of the world market, but it still relies heavily on Shenzhen because it provides the best environment for innovation,” Wang said.

    DJI’s sales volume will reach 10 billion yuan this year and Wang, a graduate from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, hopes his efforts can help forge Shenzhen into a city of drones.

    (Han Ximin)