Professor Max Lu, the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor in University of Queensland recently received a prestigious and highly-acclaimed technology award. The reason behind the award was due to "distinguished and sustained contributions to collaboration with China in science and technology". Professor Lu received the award together with other 6 awardees.

The awarding ceremony was held this week in the Great Hall of People in Beijing. Big names such as President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiao Bao and vice premiers Li Keqiang and Liu Yandong were present to give the award to the intended recipients. Professor Lu, an international nanotechnology experts expressed that he was "extremely honoured" to receive the said award.

The Chinese state leaders presented certificates to the laureates and to winners of other award categories in science, technology and innovation.

The other laureates were Andreas Dress (Germany), Toshihiko Emi (Japan), Hugues de The (France), John Buswell (UK), Hiroshi Kurihara (Japan), Stephen Porter (USA) and Aikichi Iwamoto (Japan).

Professor Lu's citation noted that he is Vice-President of The University of Queensland and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

"(Professor Lu) has established long-term cooperative relations with many Chinese research institutes such as the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)," the citation said.

"Since he joined the overseas innovation collaboration team of CAS in 2003 as a core member of the Shenyang Interface Materials R&D Centre and guest research fellow of IMR, he has worked closely with IMR in many research areas and completed a number of international cooperation projects.

"Those activities have greatly promoted the rapid development of CAS in materials for clean energy, such as solar photocatalysis, energy storage and hydrogen storage.

"He has also made great efforts in the training of Chinese young professionals in the field of new energy materials, and promoting of cooperation between China and Australian Academy of Science, as well as Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering."

Ms. Jen Tyrell from the Australian Embassy in Beijing attended the ceremony, and the subsequent meeting between Professor Lu and Vice Premier Liu Yandong.

Professor Alan Lawson, UQ's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), noted that Professor Lu first came to UQ as a PhD scholarship student.

"Luckily for us, he stayed on," Professor Lawson said.

"Max's research at UQ's School of Chemical Engineering and later the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has pushed UQ to the forefront of the world in nanotechnology.

"This field holds the keys to making various types of renewable power viable for future global energy needs, so Max's research understandably has drawn worldwide attention.

"Max's children went to Queensland schools and one is now studying at UQ. His is a real UQ success story."