The 9th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology (AOSFST) was held in Hefei, China from October 17 to 20. On this symposium a Lifetime Contribution Award was instituted by Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Science and Technology (AOAFST), to recognize the persons who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Fire Science and Technology. Prof. FAN Weicheng, chairman of AOAFST during 1995-2000, and Prof. Toshisuke Hirano, chairman of AOAFST during 1992-1995, were rewarded the first lifetime contribution Award of AOAFST in this symposium.

Prof. FAN Weicheng, professor of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), received this award for his innovative achievements in fire science and technology and great contributions to the boom of fire science in Asia-Oceania regions.

Prof. Fan graduated from USTC in 1965. Then he was employed in USTC and in 1987 promoted to be a professor there. He has been engaged in cross-disciplinary research on fire safety science and engineering for 30 years. Prof. FAN established many mathematical and physical models of describing the interactions of flow, heat transfer and combustion in fires, and also developed the net modelling method for fire smoke simulation. He also contributed many theoretical models for special fire phenomena such as flashover, backdraft and fire whirl. Prof. FAN has authored seven monographs, 230 research papers (nearly 200 papers were indexed by Web of Science), and 6 authorized invention patents to date. Tens of papers of Prof. FAN were published in Combustion and Flame, Combustion Science and Technology, Fire Safety Journal, and so on.

Prof. FAN has also contributed to the technological researches of fire safety. His technologies have been successfully applied to hundreds of large and high-rise buildings in China. He ever won three times of China National Award for Science and Technology Progress. In recent years, Prof. FAN successfully established a China national emergency system for fires and other disasters. For his great contribution, he was elected to be an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2001. In 2011, Prof. FAN won the First Prize of China National Award for Science and Technology Progress.

Prof. FAN is the founder of the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS). By his great leadership, SKLFS has developed rapidly to be one of the world's most eminent fire laboratories. Prof. FAN, Prof. Toshisuke Hirano and Prof. Victor K. Bulgakov together initiated the establishment process of Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Safety Science and Technology (AOAFST) in 1991. Prof. Fan ever held the Chairman of AOAFST for six years (1995-2000). Now AOAFST has developed rapidly to be the most important branch of IAFSS. Prof. FAN also held the Executive Member of IAFSS and the Vice Chairman of Forum. He contributed nearly 30 invited/plenary speeches in symposiums of fire safety community.

Another winner of this award, Prof. Toshisuke Hirano, is a very well known expert in the fields of combustion and fire research. He was also one of the founders of the AOAFST. He ever held the Chairman or President of the Combustion Society of Japan (1989-1994), Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Science and Technology (1992-1995; 1995-Honorary President), International Association for Fire Safety Science (1997-2002), Japan Association for Fire Science and Engineering (1999-2001). He had long-term cooperation with Chinese universities and institutes, especially with the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science at USTC, and made great contribution to the development and boom of fire science in China. He ever won the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award.