Tang Jun, a 27-year-old PhD student, is the  youngest person - and first from China - to be awarded the William Sweet Smith Prize for aerospace.

Tang, from China's College of Information System and Management of the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), was honored for his significant contributions to improving air collision avoidance systems.

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The award has been given out for the past 30 years by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a London-based 168-year-old professional engineering organization. It is intended to commend the primary author of the best paper on aerospace published by the Institution in the previous year, or to award a contribution or achievement in the field.

The prize is only awarded to one person only every year, with the possibility of no winner at all. There have been only 21 winners in the past 30-plus years.

In 2006, Tang was recommended to pursue his postgraduate studies majoring in military operation research in 2010. In 2012, he was selected by the NUDT to continue his doctoral studies in the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.

In Spain, Tang focused his research on the improvement of air collision avoidance systems. This includes creating a 4D information database, the best collision prevention strategy and the decision support system for air traffic control. His work has helped to increase the safety and reliability of the collision avoidance system, optimize the route density, improve air traffic efficiency, and reduce human error.

An committee made up of experts from the U.S. and Europe appraised Tang Jun's research results in July and agreed that the results could be incorporated in the improvement plan for the new-generation global air traffic collision avoidance system.

TagsStudent Becomes First Chinese Winner of Aerospace Prize, Tang Jun, William Sweet Smith Prize, The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, National University of Defense Technology, NUDT, aerospace industry, air collision avoidance systems