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Professor Duan Liusheng of Beijing University of Agriculture (BUA) has been awarded the 16th Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to agricultural science and technology. The award was presented during the ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People as part of the General Assembly of Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, where national leaders, including Ding Xuexiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau and Vice Premier of the State Council, presented awards to the recipients.

The Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award is one of China's highest honors in the field of engineering. Established through donations from Zhu Guangya, the inaugural President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, together with Taiwanese entrepreneurs Yin Yen-liang, Du Junyuan, and Chen Yu-hao, the award was approved by the National Office for Science & Technology Awards and is administered by the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award Foundation. Presented biennially since its inception in 1996, the award recognizes engineers and scientists who have made outstanding achievements and significant contributions to engineering science, technology, and management. Over the past 16 editions, 423 scientists from a broad range of engineering disciplines including mechanical engineering, transportation, information technology, electronics, chemical engineering, metallurgy, materials science, energy, mining, civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, architecture, environmental engineering, light industry and textiles, agriculture, medicine and public health, and engineering management, have received the honor.

Professor Duan has devoted many years to research on the development and application of plant growth regulators. He established a theoretical framework for enhancing crop lodging resistance through the targeted regulation of internode development and led the development of 12 new plant growth regulator products, all of which have received pesticide registration approval in China. He also developed plant growth regulation technologies for crops including maize and wheat, which have been widely adopted to improve lodging resistance, strengthen stress tolerance, and increase yields, providing innovative products and practical technologies that contribute to China's food security. Professor Duan also achieved major breakthroughs in key technologies for the construction of coronatine-producing engineered strains, as well as their large-scale fermentation, extraction, and purification. His team was the first in the world to achieve the industrial-scale production of coronatine, setting a new benchmark for independent innovation in the field of biological plant growth regulators. His research achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious honors, including one Second Prize of the State Technological Invention Award, three Second Prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the First Prize of the Shennong China Agricultural Science and Technology Awards, the First Prize of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Award, the Grand Prize of the DBN Science and Technology Award, and the China Youth Science and Technology Award. He has also been selected for the National High-Level Talent Special Support Program (National Ten Thousand Talents Program), appointed as a Changjiang Distinguished Professor, and honored as a National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars recipient.