The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) announced that 261 outstanding individuals were elected to the academy in 2022 on April 28 to honor their achievements in life sciences, social sciences, mathematical sciences, arts, humanities, public affairs, business and administration.

Rao Zihe, honorary president of the Biophysical Society of China (BSC) was on the list of international honorary members.

Rao is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He is also a professor at Tsinghua University, a member of the presidium at the Academic Divisions of the CAS, a member of the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and founding chairman of the China Union of Life Science Societies. He also served as president of Nankai University, director of the CAS Institute of Biophysics, and president of the International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics.

As one of the leading scientists in biophysics, protein science and pathogen biology in China, Rao has long been engaged in research on the structures of human pathogens and proteins and the development of innovative antiviral drugs.

Rao has published 401 peer-reviewed papers on international journals, including 23 papers published in Cell, Nature and Science, which have been cited 21,522 times.

Rao and his team have obtained 37 invention patents, and their work has been rated as top 10 major scientific and technological progress among China's colleges and universities, top 10 scientific advancements in life sciences in China, and top 10 scientific achievements in China several times.

Rao has won the Qiu Shi Outstanding Young Scholars Award by the Hong Kong-based Qiu Shi Science and Technology Foundation, the Science and Technology Achievement Award by the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, the Trieste Science Prize, the Tan Kah Kee Science Award and the C. C. Tan Life Science Award.

The AAAS is one of the most prestigious honorary groups in the United States. It is also an academic institution for independent policy research with John Adams, who served as the first vice-president and second president of the United States, as its first leader. The AAAS started its member selection in 1781 and recruited new members on an annual basis.