Brief News

2013 Food Biotech Training Course: Young Scientists Rewarded

The opening ceremony of 2013 Food Biotechnology Training Course for Developing Countries was held in Beijing Nov. 30, 2013. Fang Xin, Member of the CAS Presidium, Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) attended and addressed at the ceremony. She awarded the 2013 TWAS Regional Office for East & Southeast Asia (ROESEAP)  Prize to the young scholar—Dr. Custer Deocaris from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) , in honor of his dedication to scientific popularization and advancement. Fang also presented certificates of appreciation to the lecturers of the training course. Prof. Romain Murenzi, Executive Director of TWAS, delivered an opening message to the course. Themed “Classical Biotechnology (Fermentation) and Genomics for New and Improved Food Products ”, the course was co-sponsored by CAS and TWAS, and co-organized by CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Biotechnology  (CoeBio), Institute of Microbiology, CAS , CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering  as well as Beijing Society of Microbiology . The course was attended by eight lecturers from China, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and more than 40 students from 18 developing countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Lesotho, Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

First SACA Council Meeting Held

The first council meeting of South America Center for Astronomy  (SACA), CAS, was held at the National Astronomical Observatories , CAS, on Dec. 31, 2013. Ding Zhongli, Vice President of CAS, attended the meeting in his capacity as Director General of the council. The SACA was approved to start construction in February 2013. It is one of the overseas programs implemented by CAS to practice the initiatives on the cooperation of science and education in developing countries. SACA was inaugurated by Bai Chunli, President of CAS, during his visit to Chile in October 2013.