Xu Tian is currently vice-president of the Hangzhou-based Westlake University. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

To date, a total of seven top scientists have been selected to join the "Kunpeng Program", a government-sponsored scheme to introduce prominent scientists to Zhejiang province.

The Zhejiang provincial government created the "Kunpeng Program" in 2019 in hopes of finding and sponsoring talented scientists with the potential to make major breakthroughs in fields emphasized by Zhejiang, particularly internet application, life health, and new materials.

"Kunpeng", the Chinese pronunciation of a legendary bird of enormous size and power, often refers to preeminent figures in Chinese literature.

Among the seven scientists that have already been chosen for the program is Xu Tian, vice-president of Westlake University. Xu is one of the founders of the global research into growth regulation, and his research has contributed to the diagnosis of cancer and a dozen rare diseases as well as the development of some 20 new drugs.

Another prominent scientist who is part of the program is Di Dawei, a 36-year-old professor at Zhejiang University. Di was recognized by MIT Technology Review as an "Innovator Under 35" in 2019 for his contributions to semiconductor device physics.

Scientists have to go through several rounds of evaluations by China's top experts in their given area of research before joining the program. Those selected are granted a research fund of up to 100 million yuan ($15 million) as well as a personal reward of up to 5 million yuan by the provincial government. They also benefit from a series of favorable policies and a high degree of autonomy over the management of their research programs.