Shandong University (SDU) professors Wang Meiqin and Qin Yingying recently won the 2022 National March 8th Red-Banner Pacesetters award — one of the nation's highest honors for women for their outstanding work and contributions — and the National Women's Contribution Models in 2022 award, respectively, which were announced by the All-China Women's Federation.

Wang, deputy dean of SDU’s School of Cyber Science and Technology, deputy director of the Key Lab of Cryptologic Technology and Information Security of Ministry of Education and a member of the Taishan Scholar Plan, specializes in front-line teaching and scientific research of cryptanalysis and design and has made vital contributions to national information security.

She is currently presiding over a major national scientific research project and has proposed a series of automatic analysis models for cryptographic algorithms, which have become common tools in the international cryptographic field.

Qin, director of SDU’s management office for postgraduate education at Cheeloo College of Medicine, deputy director of the Key Laboratory for Reproductive Endocrinology of Ministry of Education and a member of the Taishan Scholar Plan, has long been devoted to the basic and clinical research on improving female reproductive health and preventing and controlling birth defects.

Her research reveals a new mechanism of ovarian aging and increases the genetic contribution rate of premature ovarian failure by 15 percent. As the chief scientist, Qin has undertaken nine projects under the National Key Research and Development Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.