German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) awarded on Friday "Green Talents" to 27 young scientists from around the world, including the young Chinese scholar Shujuan Zhang.

The 31-year-old Chinese scholar completed her doctoral work at the Harbin Institute of Technology where she studied environmental science and engineering.

Zhang's research focuses on decontaminating the water around China's paddy fields, as to develop methods to reduce output of nitrogen and phosphorus from paddy fields in northeast China.

Her study is both China-specific and can also be implemented around the world, according to the jury.

Meanwhile, the jury were particularly impressed with Zhang's willingness to take on such an extensive, labour-intensive research project. Her project aims are very clear and a successful outcome will be invaluable for China's water ecology.

Zhang was unable to attend the ceremony due to health reasons, she told Xinhua by telephone that the award of "Green Talents" is a clear affirmation and encouragement to her.

She said that she is looking forward to cooperation with German counterparts in research, hoping to solve environmental problems in China and to make her own contribution to the world.

A total of 574 applications from 91 countries have been received this year for the "Green Talents Award", which the BMBF set up to reward outstanding young scientists and young researchers in sustainability research since 2009.

The Green Talents are then given the unique opportunity to conduct a research stay of up to three months at an institution of their choice, funded by the BMBF, which enables the participants to learn about sustainability research in Germany while building up or strengthening their professional networks.

So far, 158 Green Talents recipients from 46 countries have been awarded by the BMBF, including 20 scholars from China.