BEIJING -- A total of 20 young female scientists and five scientific teams for research in air pollution prevention and other fields were awarded on Saturday.

At the awarding ceremony hosted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the China Association for Science and Technology, Shen Yueyue, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the ACWF, encouraged female scientists to bear in mind fundamental national interests and people's concern.

Shen called on them to achieve breakthroughs in original and pioneering scientific and technological research and brave and tackle bottleneck problems in key and core technologies to enhance the country's self-reliance and strength in science and technology.

Since 2004, 184 Chinese female scientists and researchers have been awarded, according to the ACWF.