China's top science academy on Wednesday gave its 2012 Award for International Scientific Cooperation to three scientists from India, Germany, and Russia, respectively.

The move brings the total number of winners of the award, which was launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2007 to honor foreign scientists for their contributions in Sino-foreign research cooperation, to 17.

Professor C.N.R. Rao from India's Jawaharlal Nehru University, Herbert Jaeckle from Germany's Max Planck Society and Russian space physicist G.A. Zherebtsov shared the award for 2012.

Rao is devoted to the research of solid-state and structural chemistry. He was awarded for his important contributions in boosting scientific cooperation between China and India, as well as raising the scientific capabilities of developing countries, the CAS said in a statement.

Jaeckle is a world-famous scientist in the fields of molecular developmental biology. The CAS said he has actively promoted scientific cooperation between China and Germany. He has explored and put into practice approaches that integrate a Max Planck management model with the CAS's scientific research system, as well as set up an international team of researchers.

Zherebtsov has actively promoted the construction of a Sino-Russian weather research center and is currently working to get Russia involved in a CAS space science program, the CAS said.

Founded in Beijing in November 1949, the CAS is the country's top academic and research institution for natural sciences.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2013)