A gold medal, a parchment scroll and 10,000 Swiss francs in
prize money were awarded to veteran scientist Ye Duzheng Tuesday.
Alexander Bedritsky, president of the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO), made the presentations as he congratulated
Ye on winning the 48th International Meteorological Organization
Prize, the world’s top honor in the field.??
The ceremony was held Tuesday morning in the Great Hall of the
People and attended by Chinese Vice Premier Hui
Liangyu, WMO President Bedritsky, WMO Secretary-General Michel
Jarraud and over 100 Chinese scientists and researchers.
Each year, all 187 WMO member countries and territories are
invited to nominate candidates for the prize for outstanding work
in meteorology and contributions to international cooperation in
meteorology. The IMO Prize has been dubbed the "Nobel Prize in
meteorology."
Ye was selected to receive the award at a WMO conference held in
Geneva on May 29, 2003, after he was nominated by Qin Dahe, the
permanent representative of China to the WMO and director of the China Meteorological
Administration (CMA). This is the first time that a Chinese
scientist has won the IMO since the inception of the prize in
1955.
Ye was born in north China's Tianjin City in 1916, the same year
China began keeping climate records. Eighty-eight years later, Ye
is being honored for "over six decades of meteorological
investigation, research and training, and marked service to
meteorology not only in China but also in Asia and at the global
level," according to WMO Secretary-General Jarraud here
Tuesday.
The Chinese scientist was the first person to stress the
importance of the Tibetan Plateau as a heat source in summer and a
cold source in winter. The plateau is the world's largest highland,
with an area of 2.5 million sq km and an average altitude over 4.5
km.
The monograph by Ye and his research group on the meteorology of
the plateau is widely considered a major contribution to the
understanding of atmospheric general circulation over Asia. The
professor also extended his studies to include general circulation
over the whole northern hemisphere and published one of the world’s
first research papers on the dynamics of general circulation.
Having served as leader, executive member and founder of many
international, regional and domestic scientific organizations, such
as the Chinese Academy of Science, China Meteorological Society,
Finnish Academy of Sciences and British Royal Meteorological
Society, Ye also won a series of prestigious awards. These include
the National Science Award, Scientific and Technological
Achievement Award of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation and Tan Kah-kee
Earth Sciences Prize.
"All the awards, including the IMO Prize, belong not to me, but
to the group of Chinese scientists who dedicated their life-long
energy and effort to atmospheric studies," said Ye during an
interview with Xinhua.
Ye says scientific research is very similar to a stage play,
whose success demands effective cooperation of all performers.
"It is impossible for me to accomplish all the tasks all by
myself," said Ye, who Bedritsky called "a highly respected and
world-renowned scientist."
Ye graduated from China's prestigious Tsinghua University in
1940 and eight years later finished his doctoral studies at the
University of Chicago in the US, where renowned meteorologist
Carl-Gustaf Rossby and his collaborators were conducting research
on the general circulation of the atmosphere, particularly the
then-newly discovered jet streams.
"I benefited a lot throughout the years from Professor Rossby's
motto that facts are all-important," said Ye.
In 1950, Ye returned to China. He recalls breaking into tears
when he first stepped back onto mainland soil, feeling “I am home
at last."
Now 88, Ye Duzheng is still busy with his research. "I am
working eight hours a day but still find that I run out of time,"
said Ye, who has focused on the effects of global warming since the
1980s and raised the concept of "orderly human activities" in
2003.
For decades, Ye has never been without his notebook, in which he
records random thoughts and inspirations. "The notebook motivates
me to realize the ideas as soon as possible," he says.
"If the majority of my ideas can be realized, I will die without
regret," says Ye.
In addition to his outstanding achievements in research, Ye was
praised for his role as an educator. “Two of Professor Ye’s
greatest qualities are his kindness and his immense enthusiasm to
help his students. Former students all over the world regard him
with respect and gratitude,” said Michel Farraud.
When Ye received the Scientific and Technological Achievement
Award of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation in 1995, he donated the one
million yuan (US$121,000) award to the CAS Earth Sciences Division
as a prize for outstanding young scientists in atmospheric
studies.
"I will also donate the IMO money," Ye told Xinhua Tuesday.
“China still lags behind many countries in some aspects of
meteorological studies. It is only when these young scientists can
best foreign researchers in their age group that the gap between
China and foreign countries can be narrowed,” says Ye.
"The most pleasing thing to me is not winning any award but to
know that developed countries such as the United States consider
China a real competitor. That means China is standing up.”
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2004)