YUAN Longping, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Father of Hybrid Rice, owner of the China's Medal of the Republic, passed away in Changsha on May 22^nd at the age of 91. On May 24^th, HENU held a memorial meeting for YUAN Longping in Conference Room 152 of Administration Building, Jinming Campus. President of HENU Chun-Peng Song, Vice President Wang Xuelu, and representatives of relevant departments, colleges and laboratories, attended the meeting.

At the meeting, all participants stand in silent tribute to express their deep mourning. Having spent over five decades in hybrid rice research, academician YUAN and his team helped China achieve a great wonder -- feeding nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's total land.

Chun-Peng Song recalled his several contacts with Yuan. He stressed that we should carry forward YUAN's scientific spirit, and apply it to practical work, so as to contribute to the construction and development of the university, to the prosperity of the country, to the development of the society and to the improvement of people's livelihood.

Wang Xuelu introduced YUAN's research experience, and pointed out that the enlightenment that YUAN brought to us is to adhere to the pursuit of truth and build a solid theoretical foundation. We should learn from Mr. YUAN’s optimistic spirit, even in a difficult situation, to maintain a peaceful attitude, adhere to the truth, stick to the goal, and never give up.

All participants highly commemorated YUAN Longping not only because of his outstanding contribution but also to learn from his unpretentious, upstanding nature and to imbibe his dedication to scientific research, his courage to innovate and his selflessness.