(Yicai) Aug. 26 -- Academicians Lv Xilin and Ma Dawei have received the highest accolade at the latest Shanghai Science and Technology Awards in recognition of their pioneering work in seismic structural engineering and organic synthesis.

Lv, 70, was honored for breakthroughs in earthquake and wind resistance for super-high-rise buildings, while Ma, 61, was recognized for advances in organic chemical synthesis, according to the 2024 race results announced today. The Science and Technology Meritorious Figure Award is the top prize of the event. 

An executive from the Center for Shanghai Science and Technology Awards told Yicai that the winners reflect the competition’s emphasis on fundamental theoretical research, scientific innovation, and industrial application, noting that their work sets important benchmarks for their respective fields.

The winning projects highlight Shanghai’s ongoing investment in basic research and its recent achievements in theoretical breakthroughs, the executive added, saying these outcomes are expected to enhance the city’s global scientific influence.

Ma, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Yicai that “Those engaged in basic research should communicate with people from other disciplines and those from the industrial sector. It is from such interactions that we can identify genuine scientific challenges and subsequently solve them.”

Ma’s team developed two generations of catalysts that significantly improved the efficiency of a chemical process widely used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. They succeeded in lowering the reaction temperature of the Ullmann reaction from over 200 degrees Celsius to just 80 degrees, reducing copper usage by 99 percent, and accelerating the reaction by 35 percent -- boosting the output yield by five to 10 times.

The team's innovations have been adopted by global drugmakers to produce medications for hypertension and influenza. Their work also made it possible for the mass production of Trabectedin, one of the world’s most complex chemotherapy drugs. The discovery has been so influential that some academics refer to the improved process as the Ullmann–Ma reaction.

In addition to the top honor, the Shanghai Science and Technology Awards recognized 10 young scientists, for their outstanding contributions. Fifty-six projects received natural science prizes, while 30 technological inventions, 97 scientific progress projects, and eight achievements in science popularization were also awarded. Three foreign experts in Shanghai received international collaboration awards.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine