Ms. MA Dongmin, Baidu’s Special assistant to the chairman of the board and alumna from the School of the Gifted Young of USTC 1985, donated 100 million Yuan to the university in her own name on Sept 16th. The donation, the largest single private gift ever received in school history, will finance the founding of the Rose USTC Development Fund to cultivation young talents and develop subjects.

Rose is my favorite plant, tenacious of life, and always growing towards the sun. It’s a metaphor for hope and vigor.” said Ms. MA, “We ought to create more opportunities for the young in the rapidly-changing world, and help them improve their creativity and competitiveness.”

At the donation ceremony in Material Science Building, Principal BAO Xinhe also made remarks on the school’s distinctive features for scientific research and talents cultivation. The School of the gifted Young particularly, according to BAO, has proven to be a great trial undertaken for talents cultivation. Large numbers of outstanding students emerged in the fields of research, education, and high-tech enterprises. MA’s donation mirrors their gratitude for the alma mater, as well as their strong feelings for the nation and society.

MA Dongmin, born in Hefei, Anhui, got admitted to the school of the Gifted Young of USTC at the age of 15. At the age of 20, she went to the United States and received her doctor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. She met and married with LI Yanhong there in 1995, joined the establishment of Baidu five years later and worked with Li Yanhong afterwards.

(Written by ZHAO Shuxin, Edited by YANG Xinqi, USTC News Center)