CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Who knows some marine biologists?

Zeng Chengkui (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

German marine biologist Inez Link

Zeng Chengkui, male, was born on June 18, 1909 in Xiaju, Fujian Province. He graduated with a doctorate degree and was a member of the Communist Party of China and the China Democratic League. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980 and an academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences in 1985. He was a researcher, doctoral supervisor and honorary director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Academician Zeng Chengkui studied at the Department of Botany of Xiamen University in September 1927, at the Institute of Lingnan University in Guangzhou in September 1932, and at the Graduate School of the University of Michigan in September 1940, where he received his doctorate degree. In 1987, he received the title of Honorary Doctor of Science from Ohio State University. He served as an assistant and lecturer at Xiamen University; a lecturer, associate professor, and professor at the Department of Biology of Shandong University; an associate professor at the Department of Biology of Lingnan University; an associate researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California; a researcher, deputy director, director, and honorary director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as Secretary-General, Vice President, President, and Honorary President of the Chinese Society of Oceanology and Limnology; President and Honorary President of the Chinese Society of Phycology; Vice President of the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences; an academician of the New York Academy of Sciences; a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a lifetime honorary member of the World Aquaculture Society; and a lifetime honorary member of the International Phycological Society. He had served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a representative of the 3rd to 9th National People's Congress, a member of the 2nd Central Committee of the China Democratic League, a member of the Standing Committee of the 3rd Central Advisory Committee of the China Democratic League; Chairman and Honorary Chairman of the Shandong Association for Science and Technology, Chairman and Honorary Chairman of the Shandong Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and member of the Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the 5th to 7th Shandong Provincial People's Congress.

Academician Zeng Chengkui is a world-renowned marine biologist, one of the main pioneers of my country's marine science, one of the founders of my country's seaweed research and one of the pioneers of my country's seaweed chemical industry. He has made indelible contributions to the vigorous development of my country's marine science research.

In 1946, with a strong desire to serve the motherland, Academician Zeng Chengkui gave up the favorable living conditions and scientific research conditions in the United States and resolutely returned to the motherland to devote himself to the research of marine science in the motherland. He served as the director of the Department of Botany of the former Shandong University, and the deputy director and director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the 54 years since the founding of New China, he has devoted all his efforts to the cause of marine science in the motherland, and has achieved fruitful results in various fields such as teaching, scientific research, investigation and talent training, and has made a series of major foundational and original contributions to the development of my country's marine science.

Academician Zeng Chengkui entered Xiamen University in 1927 to study botany and has been engaged in marine biology research. Since publishing "Seaweed and Other Economic Seaweeds in Xiamen" in 1933, he has continuously carried out seaweed resource surveys and classification studies, and trained a large number of algae taxonomists. His investigation and classification flora research of benthic seaweed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea has discovered hundreds of new species, 2 new genera, 1 new family and 1 new record of algae (Prochlorophyta). His research in the field of seaweed classification flora has established the status of Chinese seaweed taxonomy in the international academic community.

He personally participated in and led the basic research on kelp cultivation biology in my country, and achieved a series of original research results in artificial cultivation of kelp: low-temperature cultivation method for kelp summer seedlings, pottery jar fertilization method, research on kelp fertilization to increase production, and kelp southward migration aquaculture experiment. On the basis of studying the effect of temperature on the growth and development of kelp spores, he organized cooperation inside and outside the institute and successfully completed the kelp southward migration aquaculture experiment in Gouqi Island, Zhejiang, making the artificial cultivation of cold temperate kelp in warm temperate and subtropical waters a reality, and realizing kelp cutting to increase production, reasonable dense planting, genetic breeding, and offshore cultivation. These major research results he achieved have enabled China's kelp cultivation industry to continue to develop and become the world's largest kelp cultivation industry and the largest kelp producer. This is a major breakthrough in human transformation of the ocean and the development of marine biological resources, and has laid the foundation for my country to develop large-scale artificial aquaculture of fish, shrimp, and shellfish.

54 years ago, the life history of laver was a mystery, and artificial seedling collection and cultivation were impossible. Zeng Chengkui and his collaborators completed the study of the life history of laver, proved the source of laver spores, and solved the key problems in laver cultivation, making large-scale artificial cultivation of laver a reality. The conchocelis culture, fully artificial seedling collection and cultivation technology of both northern and southern laver also quickly achieved success. The success of artificial cultivation of large seaweeds such as kelp and laver directly promoted the rise of the first "wave" of marine aquaculture in my country.

Academician Zeng Chengkui attached great importance to the development and utilization of seaweed resources. From 1954 to 1956, he successively carried out research on the extraction and processing methods of agar and brown algae, organized and completed the research on extracting alginate from Sargassum with collaborators, replaced flour sizing with alginate, established my country's first alginate production workshop in Qingdao, and expanded to produce alginate, mannitol and iodine using kelp, and used these products in the production of medicines, food and feed, opening up a new field for my country's chemical industry. The establishment of China's seaweed chemical industry has made my country a major alginate producer second only to the United States in the world.

In the early 1970s, Academician Zeng Chengkui shifted the focus of his research to the evolution of algae. His innovative theory of "evolution of photosynthetic organisms" was different from the popular endosymbiotic theory and the five-kingdom theory, and systematically discussed the pathways, stages and evolutionary systems of photosynthetic organisms. He believed that photosynthesis was the decisive factor in the evolution of photosynthetic organisms, including algae. His theory of photosynthetic organism evolution system has been accepted by the Chinese algae community and used as a classification system for compiling the Flora of China. Among them, the discovery and research of the original green algae in the Xisha Islands is considered by the Chinese biological community to be an important achievement in the study of evolution, which directly supports his theory of photosynthetic organism evolution system, reveals the phylogenetic relationship of photosynthetic organisms, and enriches and develops the theory of evolution. In 1974, he proposed a theoretical conception on pigments, photosynthesis and the evolution of photosynthetic organisms. Under the guidance of this theory, the Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has become an academic exchange center for multidisciplinary cooperation in the study of algal photosynthesis.

While the cultivation of kelp and laver and other animal husbandry industries in my country were developing rapidly, the marine fishing industry was stagnant. In order to solve the problem of serious overfishing of seafood, he first proposed the strategic concept of agricultural and animal husbandry of marine aquatic production, personally organized and led the marine aquatic agricultural and animal husbandry experiment, which was successful and directly promoted the formation and development of the second and third waves of marine aquaculture of shellfish, shrimp and other species in my country.

Academician Zeng Chengkui paid close attention to the emerging marine biotechnology and participated in organizing the first international marine biotechnology academic seminar held in Japan. He proposed the idea of ​​developing marine biotechnology in China, which enabled China's algae and marine biology to enter the forefront of high-tech research as soon as possible, and transformed the marine aquaculture industry from a traditional industry to a high-tech industry, accelerating the development of marine biological resources. Under his advocacy of this idea, the State Science and Technology Commission launched the National Climbing Plan B project "Basic Research on Excellent Germplasm and Disease Resistance of Marine Aquaculture Organisms" with him as the chief scientist, which greatly promoted the transformation of my country's marine biotechnology research into production and made my country's marine biotechnology research and application rank among the world's leading ranks.

Academician Zeng Chengkui has published more than 370 high-level academic papers and 12 academic monographs, either alone or in collaboration with others. He has won the National Science Conference Award, the National Natural Science Award, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Major Science and Technology Achievement Award, and the Provincial (Ministry) Award. In 1991, he was awarded the honorary title of "Outstanding Contribution Scientist" by the Shandong Provincial Government; in 1995, he was awarded the Pacific Regional Science Conference Award (Xing Xinxizhi Award) by the Pacific Association for Science and Technology; in 1996, he was awarded the "Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Award" by the Hong Kong Qiushi Science and Technology Foundation; in September 1997, he was awarded the "Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation" Science and Technology Progress Award personally presented by Premier Zhu Rongji and the Chief Executive of Hong Kong; in 2001, he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award of the American Phycological Society; in 2002, he was awarded the highest science and technology award established for the first time in Shandong Province. He was elected as an academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences in 1985; elected as the president of the International Phycological Society in 1986; and was awarded a lifetime honorary member by the World Aquaculture Society in 1991.

Academician Zeng Chengkui is still a "very old horse in the stable" at the age of 70. In the 76 years of marine scientific research, he has devoted his life's energy to the research of marine biology in my country with a style of diligence, thrift, time-saving and hard work. Whether in scientific research or teaching and educating people, he has made indelible contributions to the development of marine biology research and seawater aquaculture in my country and even the world with his profound knowledge, rigorous scientific thinking and serious attitude towards scholarship. His simple work style and noble character of unswerving dedication to the cause of science and education of the motherland are a model for the majority of science and technology education workers to learn from.

Zeng Chengkui