{"id":3389,"date":"2025-12-05T15:07:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T07:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/?page_id=3389"},"modified":"2025-12-11T14:33:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T06:33:02","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; module_class=&#8221;about-first-section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;80px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;40px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;20px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#005432&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Our History<\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; custom_css_free_form=&#8221;.et_pb_text_inner p.stext { font-size: 16px;}&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In 1994, the Qiu Shi Science &amp; Technologies Foundation was established by Dr. Cha Chi Ming (2014-2007) and his family in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"stext\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-429  aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"716\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"stext\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Initial Scientific Advisory Board in 1995<br \/>Back row (left to right): Yuantseh LEE (\u674e\u8fdc\u54f2) , Guangzhao ZHOU (\u5468\u5149\u53ec), Yuetwai KAN (\u7b80\u60a6\u5a01)<br \/>Front row (left to right): Chiming CHA (\u67e5\u6d4e\u6c11), Shiing-Shen CHERN (\u9648\u7701\u8eab), Chenning YANG (\u6768\u632f\u5b81)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">Founding Story<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the early 1990s, Hong Kong industrialist Cha Chi Ming saw the great potential of advancing science and technology. He resolved to establish a foundation with its heart in China and its sights set on the rest of the world. By recognizing and supporting top scientists from mainland China, he wanted to do something that would <strong><b>\u201csend coal in a snowstorm\u201d<\/b><\/strong> \u2014 a Chinese expression for providing timely, practical help, and thereby propel the development of science and technology in China and around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>In 1992 and 1993, Cha Chi Ming invited noted mathematics professor Shiing-Shen Chern and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (and later a vice chair of the Standing Committee of the National People\u2019s Congress) Zhou Guangzhao to become scientific advisers to what would become the Qiu Shi Science &amp; Technologies Foundation. Cha Chi Ming and Johnson M.D. Cha then visited Chern at his home in Berkeley, California, to discuss asking several other gifted scientists to join the project. At Chern\u2019s suggestion, they invited State University of New York at Stony Brook physics professor Chen Ning Yang and University of California, Berkeley chemistry professor Yuan T. Lee. Johnson M.D. Cha and Yuan T. Lee approached University of California, San Francisco professor and hematologist Yuet Wai Kan. These leading scientists were authoritative voices in their fields and had insight into developments in China and globally.<\/p>\n<p>Led by Cha Chi Ming and supported by the advisers, the Qiu Shi Science &amp; Technologies Foundation, named for \u201cseeking truth\u201d (<em><i>qiushi<\/i><\/em>), was established in 1994. That year, the Foundation gave the first Qiu Shi Awards to 10 top scientists. Each scientist received 1 million RMB, an astounding sum for the scientific community in China at the time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">Evolving with Time<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Qiu Shi Foundation has not necessarily given the same awards every year; instead, it has continuously shifted its area of key emphasis and established awards that reflected the current needs and accomplishments of Chinese scientists inside and outside China.<\/p>\n<p>This desire to offer timely help has taken different forms as times have changed. In the early 1990s, Chinese scientists remained undervalued in society, facing straitened circumstances in both their personal and professional lives. The launch of the <strong><b>Qiu Shi Awards <\/b><\/strong>promoted a general atmosphere of respect for science and scientists.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists who returned to China often faced significant pay gaps in the mid- to late 1990s. Recognizing the risk of losing this talent, the Foundation added the <strong><b>Outstanding Young Scholar Award<\/b><\/strong> in 1995 to reward remarkable young scholars working on fundamental research in mainland China.<\/p>\n<p>Because those working in applied fields seldom win major science prizes, the Foundation established the <strong><b>Qiu Shi Outstanding Scientific Team Award<\/b><\/strong> in 1995 to recognize groups of researchers who had benefited society by working on fundamental science.<\/p>\n<p>Having achieved its mission for that period, and in honor of the new century, the Foundation shifted its focus in 2001 to the natural sciences, engineering and technology.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, as the scientific ecosystem begins to mature, the Foundation launched the <strong><b>Lifetime Achievement Award <\/b><\/strong>to recognize long-standing leaders for their remarkable achievements, scientific spirit and interest in the humanities.<\/p>\n<p>The Foundation celebrated its 30th\u00a0Anniversary in 2024. Continued to be supported by the Cha family and guided by the spirit to <strong><b>\u201csend coal in a snowstorm\u201d<\/b><\/strong> \u2014 providing timely support where it is needed most, the Foundation has broadened the reach of Qiu Shi Awards beyond mainland China to include recognition of ethnic Chinese scientists working internationally.\u00a0 Sustainability science emerged as a new disciplinary category supported by the Foundation. Women in STEM, translational research and physician-scientist development have also been identified as new areas for targeted future programming.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><u>Time Line<\/u><\/p>\n<p>1994\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First Qiu Shi Awards granted to 10 Outstanding Scientists<\/p>\n<p>1995\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First Outstanding Scientific Team Awards and Outstanding Young Scholar Awards<\/p>\n<p>1996\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ms. Tu Youyou (2015 Nobel Laureate) received Outstanding Scientific Team Award<\/p>\n<p>2012\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First Lifetime Achievement Award<\/p>\n<p>Xxxx\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First Qiu Shi Family Symposium<\/p>\n<p>2021\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paused for Covid Pandemic<\/p>\n<p>2024\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Qiu Shi Award selection to formally include overseas Chinese<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our HistoryIn 1994, the Qiu Shi Science &amp; Technologies Foundation was established by Dr. Cha Chi Ming (2014-2007) and his family in Hong Kong. Initial Scientific Advisory Board in 1995Back row (left to right): Yuantseh LEE (\u674e\u8fdc\u54f2) , Guangzhao ZHOU (\u5468\u5149\u53ec), Yuetwai KAN (\u7b80\u60a6\u5a01)Front row (left to right): Chiming CHA (\u67e5\u6d4e\u6c11), Shiing-Shen CHERN (\u9648\u7701\u8eab), Chenning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3389","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3389"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3522,"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3389\/revisions\/3522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p304\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}