Academician Cui Kun and his wife Professor Zhu Huinan are at home in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. [Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu]

After signing a simple contract, Cui Kun, 95-year-old academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and his wife Professor Zhu Huinan donated four million yuan (US $571,600) to the School Education Development Foundation, setting up a Freshman Grants on July 3.

To date, the couple has donated 10 million yuan (US $ 1.43 million) to education.

Regarding Cui's original intention, he mentioned that he wanted to set up a fund to help students with financial difficulties. 

The Freshman Grants will provide 6,000 yuan (US $857.4) to 133 freshmen in need every year with an annual total of 800,000 yuan (US $ 114,320) over a five year period.

The couple has made great contributions in their fields. Cui is a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. With his outstanding achievements in the field of metal materials research, he was elected as an academician in 1997, and was praised as a "Steel Academician."

Zhu was one of the earliest teachers in the chemistry teaching and research office of the former chemistry department of the university, and she served as the head of that department as well as the Department of Physics and Chemistry.

The elderly couple lives a  frugal life, and Cui has even worn the same shirt for 30 years. That's how they were able to save money for the donations.

According to a staff member of the Publicity Department of the Party Committee of the university, the couple set up the Diligence and Self-improvement Scholarship in 2013, and has donated six million yuan (US $857,400) so far.

Since its establishment, the scholarship has subsidized 312 students from the School of Materials Science and the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering who have financial difficulties as well as excellent academic performance with 8,000 yuan (US $1,143.2) per year. 

(Source: Xinhua/Translated and edited by Women of China)