The new members are: Gunter Spur, a mechanical manufacturing expert from Germany; Thomas Bell, a mechanical engineer from Britain; Adolf Lohmann, a scientist of applied optics from Germany; Thomas Huang, an information technology expert from the United States; K.S.E. Forsberg, a scientist specializing in minerals and metallurgical industry from Sweden; Jacques Caen, an immunity and blood science expert from France; and Ray Wu, a microbiologist from the United States.

CAE, set up in 1994 under the State Council, began inviting foreign scientists and engineers as members in 1995.

To date, the academy has extended membership to 24 foreign experts from the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Sweden and Japan.

"These foreign scientists have played a vital role in promoting academic exchanges between China and other countries," said CAE Vice-President Zhu Gaofeng.

This year, for the first time, membership offers are being extended to foreign academicians from January to November of every other year.

Previously, membership was extended only in June of every other year, Zhu said.

On the home front, 81 domestic scientists were granted CAE membership this year. They excelled in such fields as engineering, medicine and health, agriculture, textiles and light industry, environment, construction, water conservancy, energy and minerals industries, chemical, metallurgical and materials industries, information and electronics sciences and machinery.

And for the first time, CAE invited a Taiwanese scientist to join: Zhang Xinshi, 59, a urology expert who has made great contributions to the treatment of urological system diseases. The effort to include Taiwan will help expand scientific collaborations between the mainland and Taiwan, Zhu said.

To date, the academy has 616 domestic members.

(China Daily December 13, 2001)