File photo of Zou Chenglu. [Photo/CFP]
An asteroid has been named after Zou Chenglu, a scientist known for his contributions to biochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on Nov 2.
A ceremony was held in Beijing at the academy's Institute of Biophysics to announce the naming of Asteroid Zouchenglu, which was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 2020.
According to an IAU communique, the asteroid coded 325812 was discovered in 2008 by astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in East China.
Zou, a Wuxi native, was born in 1923 and died in 2006. A founder and pioneer of biochemistry in China, he made important contributions to the synthesis of insulin and was elected an academician of the CAS and the World Academy of Sciences.
Asteroids are the only celestial bodies that can be named by their discoverers. The naming is recognized as an international and permanent honor.
Here are another four Chinese scientists from Wuxi to receive such an honor.
Wang Xuan. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Wang Xuan
Asteroid code: 4913
Wang Xuan was born in 1937 and died in 2006. He is an expert in computer text information processing and invented a computerized laser photocomposition system for Chinese-character typesetting.
Wang was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991, as well as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1994.
Fang Cheng. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Fang Cheng
Asteroid code: 185538
Fang Cheng, an astrophysicist and a native of Jiangyin, a county level city of Wuxi, was born in 1938. Fang presided over the design and development of China's first solar tower, established the solar tower laboratory, as well as insisted on multi-wavelength solar activity observation work for a long time.
Fang was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1995.
Tang Aoqing. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Tang Aoqing
Asteroid code: 218914
Tang Aoqing was born in 1915 and died in 2008. He is a physical chemist from Yixing, a county level city of Wuxi. He is the pioneer and founder of modern theoretical chemistry in China.
Qian Weichang. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Qian Weichang
Asteroid code: 283279
Qian Weichang was born in 1912 and died in 2010. He is a famous scientist, educator, and outstanding social activist.
Qian was also renowned in applied mathematics, mechanics, physics, and Chinese informatics. He has made important achievements in elastic mechanics, variational principles, as well as perturbation methods and other fields.
Qian was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955.
