The female vice principal with a major in Chemistry is the richest person in the province.

CHINA - The new vice president of Northwestern University (Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province) has recently attracted attention for owning assets of up to 45.7 billion yuan. She is considered the richest person in the academic world.

From the lab to the marketplace, then back to the classroom

Ms. Fan Daidi - the new Vice President of Northwest University in Xi'an, China - is becoming the center of attention on social media when she was revealed to be the richest person in Shaanxi province. With an estimated fortune of 45.7 billion yuan (equivalent to more than 164 trillion VND), she could be the richest university administrator in China.

According to SCMP , although she was appointed last April to be in charge of international cooperation at the school, what has attracted the most attention is her impressive entrepreneurial journey outside of theeducation sector.

Professor Fan Daidi was revealed to be the richest man in Shaanxi province, northwest China. Photo: SCMP

Fan Daidi and her husband, Yan Jianya, are co-founders of Giant Biogene, a Hong Kong-listed biotechnology company that produces high-end recombinant collagen facial masks. The couple also owns a significant stake in Shenzhen-listed aerospace materials company Triangle Defense.

Born in the countryside of Pucheng County, Shaanxi Province, to a rural doctor father, Fan Daidi graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in chemistry from Northwestern University in the 1980s. In 1994, she received a doctorate in bioengineering from East China University of Science and Technology (Shanghai), and is considered the first female doctor in this field in China.

That same year, at the age of 28, despite having many opportunities to work in Shanghai or abroad, she chose to return to her alma mater in Xi'an to teach and do research.

With only 5,000 yuan in hand, she led a research team on human collagen - the foundation for the later birth of Giant Biogene. From January 1999 to January 2000, she was a guest researcher at the National Center for Bioengineering of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.

Despite his impressive business talent, Professor Fan still nurtures a passion for scientific research. Photo: SCMP

According to The Standard , in 2000, she and her husband founded Giant Biogene and invented the recombinant collagen mask - a prominent product that took the company public and became a leading bio-cosmetic brand.

Ms. Fan has now stepped down from her executive role at Giant Biogene, remaining as chief scientist. Her husband is chairman and CEO. Neither holds an executive position at Triangle Defense.

"I choose the lab, not the conference room"

Despite being a billionaire businesswoman, Ms. Fan asserted that her greatest passion is still scientific research and training the next generation. Before being appointed Vice President, she was the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and a professor supervising doctoral students at Northwestern University.

In a share, she said: “I like being in the lab with students, leading them in research. Training talents to serve society is my responsibility.”

Chinese law stipulates that public university leaders are not allowed to participate in business operations. However, according to a lawyer from Henan , if Ms. Fan is licensed and does not use her public position for personal gain, and still performs her work well at the school, this does not violate the regulations.

Her daughter, Ms. Yan Yubo (29 years old), is currently the CEO at Giant Biogene, after graduating with a master's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US.

The story of Professor Fan Daidi shows that science and business are not contradictory, if scientists put the interests of the community and the spirit of dedication first.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-pho-hieu-truong-co-chuyen-mon-hoa-hoc-la-nguoi-giau-nhat-tinh-2404713.html