Bill Gates given one of China’s highest academic honours
Microsoft chief elected to Chinese Academy of Engineering because of work to develop advanced nuclear technology
Bill Gates, the tech billionaire who co-founded Microsoft, has been given one of China’s highest academic honours – an accolade which is mostly reserved for top scientists and engineers.
Gates was the only non-academic foreigner hand-picked by the Chinese Academy of Engineering for lifetime membership of the 815-member body from a pool of 533 candidates, the organisation announced on Monday.
New academicians are selected every two years from academic institutions, research institutes, enterprises and hospitals, both inside and outside China.
The CAE – which falls under the State Council, China’s top governing body – also has a role advising Beijing on the country’s economic and social development, and its new members need to have “strict political clearance”.
Foreigners are eligible for membership if they have contributed to the development of or played an important role in promoting China’s engineering, science, and technology, the CAE said on its website.
Win a science Nobel and be in the running for a Chinese ‘green card’
The academy said Gates was elected to the academy for his role as founder and chairman of Washington-based nuclear power company TerraPower, which recently announced a partnership with the China National Nuclear Corporation to develop an advanced nuclear reactor.
