Li Zhensheng (; born February 25, 1931) is a Chinese geneticist who specializes in the

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. He is an

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

and was awarded the

Highest Science and Technology Award The Highest Science and Technology Award () also known as the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, State Supreme Science and Technology Award, or China's Nobel Prize is the highest scientific award issued by the President of the PRC to ...

in 2006.

Biography

Mr. Li was born in

Zibo Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the nor ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. In 1951, he graduated from Shandong Agricultural University and worked in Yangling (Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, now

Northwest A&F University Northwest A&F University (NWAFU; ) is a key national public research university in Xianyang, Shaanxi, China, under the administration of the Ministry of Education. NWAFU is a member of "Project 985" club, which is an origanization of 39 the mos ...

) for over 30 years. In an interview, he said that three scientists influenced him very much, they are

Hua Luogeng Hua Luogeng or Hua Loo-Keng (; 12 November 1910 – 12 June 1985) was a Chinese mathematician and politician famous for his important contributions to number theory and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the Peop ...

(for telling him how to learn),

Qian Sanqiang Qian Sanqiang (; October 16, 1913 – June 28, 1992), also known as Tsien San-Tsiang, was a Chinese nuclear physicist and among the leading scientists of the Two Bombs, One Satellite program. Due to his central role in the development of China ...

(how to do research) and

Ai Siqi Ài Sīqí () is the pen name of Li Shengxuan (李生萱, 2 March 1910 – 22 March 1966), a Yunnan Mongol Chinese philosopher and author. He was born in Tengchong, Yunnan, later traveling to Hong Kong, where he studied English and French at ...

(Historical Materialism and Dialectical Materialism).

Work

In Li's scientific career, he has made three notable contributions to wheat genetics and wide-hybridization between common wheat and ''

Thinopyrum ponticum ''Thinopyrum obtusiflorum'' is a species of grass known by the common names tall wheatgrass, rush wheatgrass, and Eurasian quackgrass. It is native to Eurasia and it has been introduced to many other parts of the world, including much of the Ame ...

''. The wheat cultivars have greatly enhanced productivity of wheat. Among them, Xiaoyan 6 has been widely grown in China. This has enabled him to propose a creative methodology for producing wheat substitution lines through nullisomic backcrossing. This kind of breeding needs less natural resources, and it protects the environment which is good for the sustainable development in Chinese agriculture.

Awards and honors

* In 1983, First-class Prize of Sci-tech Advance Award by the People's Government of Shanxi province of China * In 1985, First-class Prize of National Invention by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China * In 1988, Tan Kah Kee Prize in Agricultural Science by Tan Kah Kee Foundation * In 1990, Fellow, the Third World Academy of Sciences * In 1978, National Scientific Conference Prize * In 1979, National

model worker Model worker (, abbreviated as 劳模 or ''láomó'') refers to an exemplary worker who exhibits some or all of the traits appropriate to the ideal of the socialism. Exemplary worker come from various sectors of the Chinese economy, including the i ...

* In 1993, Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences * In 1995, Ho Leung Ho Lee Sci-tech Prize in Agricultural Science, awarded by Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation in Hong Kong * In 2005, China Agriculture Elite Award by the Ministry of Agriculture of China * In 2006, Li won the

of China.Li Zhensheng
* In 2010, asteroid 90825 Lizhensheng, discovered by the

Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program The Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program (SCAP) was an astronomical survey to search for near-Earth objects. It was conducted during the 1990s, at the Xinglong Station in Xinglong County, Chengde, Hebei province, China and resulted in the disc ...

in 1995, was named in his honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on September 23, 2010 ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Zhensheng 1931 births Living people Biologists from Shandong Chinese geneticists Educators from Shandong Shandong Agricultural University alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Northwest A&F University People from Zibo