On July 3rd, 95-year-old academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering Kun Cui and his wife Huinan Zhu, both professors at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) donated 4 million yuan to the Education Development Foundation of the university to set up the "Freshman Grant". This stipend will grant 6,000 yuan each to 133 new students from poor families every year for the next five years starting from 2020, with an annual donation of 800,000 yuan.

“I was nurtured by the country and it was my original intention to set up a fund to support students from poor families,” said Cui, “I want to donate some of my salary to society.”

Both Academician Kun Cui and his wife Professor Huinan Zhu have devoted their lives to teaching and research at the university. They have also made outstanding contributions to their respective posts over the years. Cui is a professor from the School of Materials Science and Engineering. In 1997, he was elected as an Academician by the Chinese Academy of Engineering because of his outstanding achievements in the field of metallic material. Professor Huinan Zhu was one of the first teachers to join the Chemistry Teaching and Research Department, formerly the original Chemistry Department in HUST. She was previously the director of the Physics and Chemistry Department.

This diligent couple have been leading a frugal life. They donated money they had saved for years in order to aid poor undergraduates, despite the fact that one of Academician Cui's shirts has been worn for 30 years.

Academician Cui and his wife Professor Zhu set up the Diligence and Encouragement Grant in 2013, to help students from poor families with excellent academic performance, raising a total donation of 6 million yuan. Since the establishment of this grant, 312 students from School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering have been aided, with each student receiving 8,000 yuan per year. Combined with the newly established “Freshman Grant”, the couple has donated 10 million yuan to aid education.

Every year, students visit Academician Cui and Professor Zhu on Teacher's Day and National Day. Mingzhu Pan, a 2017 undergraduate student at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, who received the Diligence and Encouragement Grant in 2019, said that Academician Cui and Professor Zhu care for their students in all aspects, including material support, academic guidance and character building. Fei Yang, a 2016 graduate, said that the couple are indifferent to fame and fortune, honest and self-disciplined in life, strict and rigorous in scientific research, constantly innovative in scientific work, which makes them highly admired.

Written by：Aoyi Zhang

Edited by：Rong He

Source: Office of Undergraduate Affairs, School of Material Science and Engineering