Academician Donates 10 Million Yuan to Support Youth Innovation

Academician Shen Jiaxiang, a 93-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Tianjin University, retired, but his mind still remains in medicinal chemistry bottles and jars.

Today, he and his wife Chen Yanna donated RMB 1 million to Tianjin University, hoping to use this money to support young people in innovative work.

Shen Jiaxiang was absent from the two-member Academician Conference last week, but he noticed that Chairman Xi Jinping once again emphasized that the country should implement innovation-driven development strategies. Shen Jiaxiang said to the China Youth Daily reporter, word by word, that to donate this money is to respond to this call. “President Xi Jinping encouraged all of us to innovate completely, innovate and innovate again. I think if I can do something, I am very happy.”

According to Shen Chih-chuan's Sun Shenbing, one million yuan accounted for about half of Mr. Shen's deposits. He set aside a quarter for his wife and another quarter for emergencies and to implement some of his experimental ideas. In addition, he did not plan for himself.

The University of London PhD, who had the ideal return service of “saving the country with science” in 1949, has achieved remarkable success in promoting antibiotics and localization of vitamins. He told reporters: "We have done little research on new drugs in the past and we are too far away from foreign counterparts. They are engaged in innovation. We used to be more imitations. Chairman Xi Jinping's speech was 'Call us ourselves to rise up and follow. Like foreign countries, do innovative work'."

Today, he is very happy that he has a large number of overseas talents working in China. The Tianda School of Pharmacy he participated in created last year welcomed Professor Jay Siegel, the “Dean of Foreign Affairs” not seen in the university for more than 60 years. Today, Shen Jiaxiang dressed in a red Tang suit and, in front of Prof. Siegel, said to Li Jiajun, the president of Tianjin University, that his greatest wish is what is happening - even foreign outstanding scientists have also come to work in China.

After accepting the donation, President Li Jiajun stated that he would not fail to live up to the hope of Mr. Shen and that he would do a good job of managing Tianda and make the School of Pharmacy an internationally competitive organization. Tianda will set up the “Shen Jiaxiang Education Fund” to reward outstanding teachers and students in the pharmaceutical field.

Professor Siegel visits Mr. Shen on an average monthly visit to work with him. In the eyes of the “Dean Dean”, the charitable deeds of Mr. Shen’s contributions are rare in foreign countries and reflect China’s four virtues: patriotism, innovation, loyalty, and tolerance.

Shen Jiaxiang’s nephew Bao Zongye said that Mr. Shen’s lifelong pursuit is to develop the nation’s modern pharmaceutical industry. This donation reflects this pursuit. Mr. Shen feels that he has achieved a high level of seniority and has done less and less research work. Donations are a way for him to repay the society and give him a big reward.

Although he has been in the late 20th century, Shen Jiaxiang still pays attention to current events and his thinking is active. Shen Chibing told reporters that grandfather may come up with new ideas at any time, and students will also help him retrieve some of the literature needed for the study. Last year, Grandpa had once eaten Japanese natto and suddenly pondered the vitamin K that helped relieve osteoporosis in natto. Grandpa “started” a student and two nannies in the family to study how to ferment natto and analyze the vitamin K, and collected a lot of literature for it. Shen Chibing’s feelings, starting from the trivialities in life, Grandpa will think of innovation. Today, Grandpa has fulfilled his long-cherished wish to donate money and placed his earnest expectations for innovation on young people.

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