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The University of Western Australia’s Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall has received a prestigious award from the Chinese Government.

Representatives of the Chinese Government’s State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs presented the Friendship Award to Professor Marshall, who was recommended for the award by Sun-Yat-sen University.

First established in the 1950s and restored in 1991, the Friendship Award is a state-level award set up to thank and commend outstanding foreign experts annually for their great contributions to China’s social development and economic, scientific, technological, educational and cultural construction. So far 1449 have been awarded.

Professor Marshall, a regular visitor to China and current student of Mandarin at UWA’s Confucius Institute, said he had visited many universities in China and had been impressed by the strong government support for young scientists.

“They are the future and I hope that my efforts will help strengthen collaborations between The University of Western Australia and China,” he said.

“To strengthen our collaborations I continue to learn Mandarin, I study the Chinese culture and I love to travel to scenic places in China.

“Confucius once said: ‘Walk 10,000 miles and read 10,000 books’. Let’s all aim to do that I hope to see many PhD scholarships to UWA in future."

The Chinese award follows last month’s dedication ceremony to rename UWA’s Science Library the Barry J Marshall Library in honour of Professor Marshall’s 2005 Nobel Prize.

Sun Yat-sen University, originally known as Guangdong University, was founded in 1924 by Chinese revolutionary, first president and founding father of the Republic of China, Dr Sun Yat-sen. The University is located in Guangdong Province, an area neighbouring Hong Kong and Macao.

Media references

David Stacey (UWA Media and Public Relations Manager) (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716