Yao Xianping, a chemical expert and head of the Hangzhou Research Institute of Chemical Technology [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

In the late 1980s when China accelerated the growth of starch and its deep processing industry with the deepened reform and opening up, a bunch of scientific workers threw themselves into the research of the industry and sought breakthroughs, including Yao Xianping, a chemical expert and head of the Hangzhou Research Institute of Chemical Technology.

In 1985, Yao, who worked in the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, returned to Zhejiang and devoted to the R&D of paper chemicals in Hangzhou Research Institute of Chemical Technology.

When he found that modified starch enjoyed promising prospects as a chemical additive for paper making and that China was relatively lagging behind in the application of the skill, he decided to commit his career to the nation's chemical industry. Since then, he embarked on a journey of more than 30 years towards research and technological breakthroughs.

"It is possible that every piece of paper that you use embodies the fruitful results of my work," said Yao, who painted the molecular structure of the modified starch on a piece of paper while explaining to reporters his R&D results of the past 30 years: in the process of papermaking, the modified starch as an additive can effectively reduce the papermaking costs and improve the quality of paper products.

In his scientific research career, he has always placed a great value on the significance of scientific and technological achievements.

Since being engaged in paper chemicals, Yao has worked on over 30 projects, contributing to some world leading scientific research breakthroughs, providing millions of tons of products to the papermaking industry.