[Photo/WeChat account: zjfabu]

A national awards ceremony was held in Beijing on Jan 10 to honor distinguished scientists, engineers, and researchers throughout the country who have made remarkable achievements over the past year. Twenty-seven projects from Zhejiang province won awards.

Among the projects, 11 were led by Zhejiang researchers, which won the National Award for Technological Invention and the National Award for Progress in Science and Technology. Another 16 involved the participation of Zhejiang researchers.

Compared with 2018, the total awards won by Zhejiang researchers increased by two, while the awarded projects led by them increased by four, with nearly 40 percent of the awarded projects being related to bio-pharmaceuticals.

Zhejiang University led six of the awarded projects, including a technology for treating cataracts. The project has been promoted in 73 hospitals in 31 provinces and cities in China for treating more than 1.33 million patients.

Hangzhou Normal University won second prize of the National Award for Progress in Science and Technology for its project on developing a new type of enzyme to treat serious diseases like cancer and diabetes. It was the first time that the school has won the award.

The project has generated sales of 6.4 billion yuan ($930.71 million) over the past five years and contributed more than 800 million yuan in taxes.