Chinese academician donates total of 6 million yuan to aid education

The 93-year-old Chinese academician Professor Cui Kun donated another 1.8 million yuan ($0.26 million) to aid excellent universities students from poor families, raising the total donation amount to 6 million yuan, according to central China’s Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) on Oct. 7.

Early in 2013, Cui Kun and his wife Zhu Huinan, both professors at HUST, initiated a stipend with 4.2 million yuan they had saved for years to aid poor undergraduates, despite the fact that they didn’t buy a house property or any up-to-date furniture.

It’s known that the generous old couple has been leading a frugal life. Still, two professors, together with their daughter, decided to repay society in this way. Adding the latest donation, the couple has given out 6-million-yuan deposits for the use of education.

Cui summarized his some 90 years’ life as diligent and dedicated to the country. Thus, he emphasized that the targets he subsidized must be diligent. Meanwhile, they’re also urged to contribute to their motherland after gaining achievements in study.

Born in 1925 in east China’s Jinan, Cui spent his teenage time under Japan’s war of aggression. In 1944, he was enrolled in the department of mechanics of Wuhan University and started lecturing there after graduation.

In 1958, he was funded by the Chinese government for a two-year study in Russia, furthering his study of the metallography and heat treatment. After returning to China, he and his colleagues established a metal materials and heat treatment laboratory.

From 1981 to 1991, the professor was successively recognized by three state awards for inventions. It’s estimated that Cui’s study has created economic benefits worth 200 million yuan, recalled Mei Shiyan, then deputy secretary of HUST party committee.

In 1997, Cui Kun was elected as an Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.