Two Civil Satellites Lauched by Long March Rocket
At 9∶33, May 10, 1999 Beijing time, Chinese made Long March 4b c arrier rocket successfully sent from Taiyuan Satellite Launching Center two civi l satellites manufactured by Chinese Institute of Space Technology into the desi red orbit. This is the first satellite launching service made in the year.
The Long March 4b Rocket Sent FromTaiyuan Satellite Launching Center.Being an improved type of Long March 4 successfully developed in 1988, Long Mar ch 4b is a 3 phased multi-purpose rocket using fuels at a regular temperature d eveloped by Shanghai Space Agency. So far Long March 4 has made two launches wi thout any accident. The said launch is the first try for Long March 4b. Long M arch 4b is of a length of 44.1 m, taking off thrust of 300 tons and carrying ca pacity of 1500 kilos.
Both satellites launched are solar syachronous satellites with their orbit at a height of 870 km. One of them is FY-1 Chinese made first generation meteorolog ical satellite equipped with ten visible channels and infra-red radiometer, cap able of sending real time meteorological images to receivable ground stations in the world. The satellite is also able to make sea water color sounding and mar ine remote sensing. China had launched two FY-1 meteorological satellites in 1 988 and 1990 respectively. This is the third launch of the same series. The ot her satellite launched is Practice 5, a scientific experimental satellite design ed by Chinese space agency on the concept of public platform, mainly serving for testing of space unit particles and response strategy, space fluid dynamics exp eriment, S-band high speed date transmitter and on-orbit studies of large volu me solid state memory and platform experiment.
Major Progress for Yangtze River Scholars Award Program
It is disclosed at the working meeting of Yangtze River Scholars Award Program convened by Ministry of Education which was ended up not long ago at Xiamen University that major progress has been seen in implementing the Progr am jointly by Ministry of Education and Li Jiachen Foundation with next phase in full fledge action.
Co-founded by Ministry of Finance and patriotic industrialist Li Jiacheng from Hong Kong and implemented by Ministry of Education, the Program is aiming at ab sorbing, selecting, nurturing and turning out high level and creative young and middle aged talents. Launched in August last year, the program has produced fin e social response. Up to date, Ministry of Education has created special profes sor positions in 450 disciplines at 113 higher learning institutions and 73 prof essors recruited under the program have started their work after signing contrac ts with their parent schools. Three winners of"Yangtze River Scholar Achievement Award" have also been screened out.
As briefed by Mr. Guan Peijun, Deputy Director-General of Dept. of Personnel, Ministry of Education, according to the Program, Ministry of Education will cre ate 500 to 1000 special professor positions in the nation's higher learning ins titutions within 3 to 5 years. At present, the universities granted with specia l positions have opened their second recruitment for the candidates both at home and abroad through the media and Internet. Recommendation of second group of p rofessor candidates and candidates for second
and application for third group of special professor positions will st art from the third quarter of 1999.
Nurturing World-Class Young Scientists Accelerated
Mr. Xu Songtao, Deputy Minister of Personnel disclosed on May 4, 1999, that China is accelerating its efforts nurturing academic or technical you ng leaders covering multiple levels, especially world class young scientists.
"This is an important initiative associated with China's future S&T developmen t and national economic development" Xu said at the opening ceremony of advanc ed course on"Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Program"
The socalled "Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Program" is a senior talents nurturing initiative co-sponsored in December, 1995, by Chinese Ministr y of Personnel, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Minis try of Finance, State Planning Commission, China Science and Technology Associat ion and China National Natural Science Foundation. The Program is aiming at by the end of this century bringing out a hundred outstanding young scientists of major influence in world scientific community, ranking in the frontiers of world science and technology, a thousand academic or technical leaders of domesticall y advanced level and disciplinary superiority and ten thousands candidates for a cademic or technical leaders, playing backbone or core roles in their discipline s.
It is briefed that the Program has selected 1077 candidates, many of whom are tu tors for doctorate students, experts enjoying special governmental subsidies or young and middle aged scientists who have achieved outstanding results. The sai d advanced course covers many important issues such as S&T innovation, protectio n of intellectual property rights, quality control, environmental protection, mo dern agriculture, earth science, medical science and biomedical science, space a nd aviation technology, new materials and new energy. Mr. Lu Yongxiang, Presid ent of CAS, delivered the first presentation entitled "Era and Future for Scien ce and Education" on May 4, 1999.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Sequencing and Assembling of Major Two Human Genome Sections
Human Genome Center with Institute of Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, disclosed on May 6th, 1999 that the Center has for the first time in the country completed the sequencing and assembling of two major human genome sections cons isting of nearly 450000 base pairs. The data will soon be fed into international database of human genome sequence. Their paper on 155 gene of human nuclei prot ein located by cloning was published on Genome,an renowned internat ional academic journal in the field.
Yang Huanming and Yu Jun, Director of the Center, briefed that the total length of human genome is 3 billion base pairs. Though the DNA section completed by Chinese scientists is only 1/6000 of the total, the effort has shown that China has capably started to sequence genome on an extensive basis, which laid a solid foundation for the target completing one hundredth of human genome by Chi nese scientists.
Human genome sequencing is the most important part with the most difficulty in international human genome program. To win a position for China in this great scientific undertaking, Human Genome Center with Institute of Genetics, Chinese Ac ademy of Sciences, jointed in the international collaboration of extensive seque ncing of human genome started from selecting the sections crowded with genes, es pecially with major diseases related genes. With Chinese DNA as the model, matu re MCD technique as the front support and backed-up by capability of sequencing , assembling and analysis, it is scheduled to complete the sequencing of 30 mill ion base pair by the end of 2001 so as to materialize the 1/100 contribution tar get declared by Chinese human genome community.
Successful Development of Multiple Variants Controlled Software
A socalled multiple variants controlled software, a blank in Chin a's new generation software has been successfully developed by joint research team of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University.
The said software is mainly used for advanced real time control and optimization in industrial process. Compared with traditional control technologies, it may remarkably improve the control efficiency of industrial processes. It is also able to analyze industrial control processes, eliminate malfunctions of control system and restructure control system without stopping production. It is also in a position to optimize the stability and dynamic for the economic purpose, au tomatically diagnose instrument failure, improve safety of control system so as to realize stable, high yield and energy efficient production.
China's Advanced Wind Tunnel Testing Techniques
Thanks to their painstaking efforts for more than eight years, Ch inese wind tunnel experts have developed an internationally advanced transonic w ind tunnel system of full automatic balancing mechanism. The new system was rec ently applauded for its success at Institute of High Velocity, Air Dynamics Rese arch Base of Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Experts briefed that the result has made China's technology of wind tunnel test ing a new breakthrough and earmarked China's position of internationally advanc ed rank in the field.
Wind tunnel experiment is of importance to developing and designing space vehicl es such as airplanes, rockets and satellites. Adaptable balance is a major inst rument measuring air dynamic parameters of flying vehicle models. As shown by t he testing and verification, Chinese made full automatic balancing system has re ached internationally advanced level in terms of its force direction, working po int and head restoration accuracy. Its application will greatly improve accurac y and efficiency of wind tunnel experiment and accelerate the development of Chi na's space flying machines.
China's National Astronomical Observatory Center
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on April 23, 1999 that it would establish a National Astronomical Observatory Center on the basis of current framework of Beijing Observatory, Zijinshan Observatory, Shanghai Observatory, Yunnan Observatory, Urumqi Observatory, Changchun Satellite Ground Station and Nanjing Astronomical Instrument Research Center.
Mr. Xu Zhihong, Vice President of CAS, said being one of CAS's first 12 innova tion projects, the establishment of the center is an important effort to create new national astronomical research system on the basis of restructuring its basi c disciplines in different localities and institutions so as to be matched with the international astronomical development in the 21st century and the nation's S&T development strategy. The center will support research activities covering nine major fields of macro structure of space, formation and evolution of galax ies, high energy and triggering process of celestial bodies, formation and evolu tion of stars, solar magnetic activities and solar-terrestrial environment, ast ronomical earth dynamics, solar celestial body and manmade celestial body dynami cs, astronomical observation means and space exploration, new space technologies and methods.
The new center will practice the socalled "director responsibility system" It will run its business independently and be subordinated to Beijing Observator y in administration. The center will exercise centralized management of large as tronomical observation equipment of CAS system. The center will set up 35 resear ch groups or teams consisting of excellent observation and theoretical research personnel in CAS who will work under their respective academic leaders.
It is reported that the center has already selected 46 chief experts with the av arage age of 45 years old, 60% of whom are Ph.D.
Major Breakthrough in China's Study of Laser Cooling and Atom Imprisonment
Thanks to their painstaking efforts, Profs. Wang Yiqiu and Yang Lehai of Peking University have landed major breakthroughs for their studies on laser cooling and imprisoned atoms. They have also for the first time in the c ountry realized magnetic light well and acquired cool caesium atoms with their p roperties reaching international level. They have also observed some abnormal phenomena of caesium atoms. They realized for the first time in the country th e optical cluster and acquired super cool caesium atomic cluster. They have wor ked out 10 μK of the minimum temperature for super cool atomic cluster in free dropping with flying time technique.
Laser cooling and atom imprisonment is a new physical method developed in the la st decade and more. It can cool down gas atoms to a nearly standstill status s o as to observe and measure atoms in an extremely accurate manner. Such atomic state can be used in manufacturing atomic clock with an accuracy of less than 1 second difference in millions of years, which is of importance to future scienti fic measuring, telecommunication and navigation.
China's Major Breakthrough in Wheat Breeding
Chinese agronomists have successfully realized four generations hybrid
wheat breedings in a year in the course of their studies of hybrid wheat of high yield, fine quality and multiple resistance. This earmarked a major breakt hrough in China's regular wheat breeding techniques with some of them reaching the internationally advanced level.
The research project named "research and applications of fast and stable breedi ng of hybrid wheat" is completed by Institute of Botany, Qinghai Academy of Agr iculture and Forestry. Mr. Wang Zhiwei, Chair of the research project, briefed that during one year period from March 1998 to February 1999, the research team has successfully completed the multi-generation breedings ( eight generations i n two years) in semi-opened greenhouse with non-biological approaches and real ized for the first time in the country four generation breedings in one year.
It is reported that the proven multi-generation breeding techniques have not on ly found appropriate applications in wheat but also found wide applications in q uick breeding of other crops such as rape, peas and horse beans.
Successful First Marine Drill
The first marine drilling exploration in Chinese sea area chaired by Chinese scholars in collaboration with overseas scientists has proven a succ ess. The high quality consecutive cores obtained in the explorative drill have p rovided important evidence for revealing the evolution history of China South Se a. The marine drilling vessels undertaking the mission returned to Hong Kong on April 13, 1999.
The said effort is an important international collaborative program in the field of earth sciences. Taking off from Australia on Feb. 18, 1999, the drilling ves sel traveled more than 5000 km over 40 latitudes in two months. The expedition drilled 17 wells from 2000 m to 3300 m of depth in 6 deep ocean stations located in north and south of China South Sea respectively. The deepest well reached a depth of 850 m under the ocean floor and obtained a consecutive core of 5500 m i n total length with a core obtaining rate of 95% far beyond the targeted task. This is the first try of the marine drilling expedition in China's sea area. Th e expedition obtained deep ocean sedimentation records dated back to 3000 years ago and revealed the evolution history of China South Ocean.
