A Big Family

DEDICATED TO SCIENCE: Nancy Yuk-Yu Ip (second right) and Li Fanghua (third left), another Chinese prize winner of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, attend an event celebrating women's contributions to science in Paris on March 7, 2003 (XINHUA)

Ip said she owes her accomplishments to the support of her family. When Ip learned that she had won the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2004, she first called her husband and then her two children and parents to inform them of the good news. "They were all very happy for me," she said.

As a businessman, her husband does not know the intricate details of her research, but he supports her work.

The scientific research field, in the eyes of many, is dominated by men. A woman has to sacrifice a lot to get ahead. Ip said she assumes the roles of mother, wife, teacher and team leader at the same time. In order to fulfill these roles, she has to balance work and family.

"It is hard to find a balance. In the past, I would have breakfast with my children, send them to school and then arrive at the office around 7:30 a.m. In the evening, I went back home for dinner, chatted with my husband and children and watched TV with them," she said. "I tried not to work at home. It is important for a working woman to communicate with her family. For me, I try to do things for my family and make them understand that I care for them."

Ip's students have also become like a second family. They love doing research with her. However, Ip does not like her students calling her "boss" as many students do on the Chinese mainland. "If they call me 'boss,' it feels as if they're doing research for me rather than for the advancement of science."

Ip said nothing makes her happier than being a teacher—even more than her numerous honors and awards.

Who is Nancy Yuk-Yu Ip?

1956: Born in Hong Kong

1977: Graduated from Simmons College in the United States

1983: Earned a Ph.D. degree in medicine at the Medical School of Harvard University

1993: Joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as a scientist

2001: Elected as academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

2003: Won the second prize of State Natural Science Award

2004: Won the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science

2011: Again won the second prize of the State Award for Natural Sciences

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