BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of TerraPower, was elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) Monday.
Gates is the founder and chairman of TerraPower, a leading nuclear innovation company. He was among the 18 new foreign academicians elected to the institution, including President of the London-based Royal Academy of Engineering Dame Ann Dowling and President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Leo Rafael Reif, said the CAE. The total number of foreign academicians in CAE is now 66.
Of 533 candidates, 67 Chinese scientists were elected to the academy, 49 from universities and research institutes and 18 from businesses and hospitals.
"Becoming an academician is an honor, but also a responsibility," said Wu Guanghui, chief designer of China's large passenger jet C919.
The C919 took to the skies in May this year, a major step for China in the global aviation market.
Other newly elected academicians including telecommunication satellite scientist Zhou Zhicheng and Qiao Jie, a doctor who has been working in reproductive medicine for 30 years.
Of the 67, 63 are men. The average age is 56, with the eldest being 67 and the youngest 49, according to the CAE.
There are 882 academicians at CAE.
In a letter to new members, the CAE encouraged them to cultivate young talent, take the lead in creating a scientific and democratic academic environment, and asked them to be prudent in accepting offers of public titles and to be indifferent to fame and wealth.
CAE membership is China's highest title in the field of engineering and a lifelong honor. New members are recruited every two years.
The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are the country's two top think tanks that advise government and industry on scientific and technological issues.
