(Yicai) Aug. 31 -- Leading figures in the development of Covid-19 vaccines and scientists involved in China’s Beidou satnav system are among this year’s contenders for membership of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Of the 1,238 candidates, 583 are for the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 655 for the Chinese Academy of Engineering, notices posted on the websites of the two bodies said today. Only 169 will be made academicians.

Among the candidates, 194 are in the fields of medicine and life sciences, including researchers from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, microbial virus researchers and executives of vaccine manufacturers, such as Yang Xiaoming, chief engineer and chief scientist of Sinopharm, and Qin Chuan, researcher at the Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, who published the results of the world’s first experimental Covid-19 jab for animals.

Wang Lei, from the Institutes of Biomedical Sciences at Fudan University is the youngest candidate, at just 40 years old. Wang studies the genetics of human reproductive diseases.

Another candidate is Lin Baojun, vice president of the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites and chief designer of the Beidou-3 satellite navigation system. Lin and his team have developed and launched 12 satellites and developed the first of China’s new generation of Beidou satellites. This has boosted the global popularity of the system, which is now used in 200 countries and regions.

Candidates from the corporate world include Xu Wenwei, director of Huawei Technologies and president of the Strategic Research Institute, Wang Haifeng, chief technology officer of Baidu and deep learning expert, Lian Yubo, chief scientist of electric carmaker BYD, and Wu Kai, chief scientist of power battery company Contemporary Amperex technology.

Editor: Tom Litting