Chen Jianfei and Chen Shengyong, a pair of brothers born and raised in an underdeveloped village in Yongjia county, Zhejiang province, were both included in the World's Top 2% Scientists, a list published by Stanford University in May.

The list was compiled by Stanford scholars based on the citation impact of the publications of nearly 7 million scientists worldwide who work across 176 research areas.

Chen Jianfei. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Born in 1963, Chen Jianfei is a marine engineering professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. His research is mainly focused on civil engineering and mechanics of discrete materials. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Edinburg in 1996 and had been working at British universities before returning to China two years ago.

Chen Shengyong. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Born in 1973, Chen Shengyong is a computer science and engineering professor at the Tianjin University of Technology in North China's Tianjin municipality. He obtained his doctorate degree from the City University of Hong Kong. He is currently researching machine vision and pattern recognition technologies.

Though the brothers specialize in different disciplines, Chen Shengyong acknowledges that his elder brother had inspired him to become a scientist and has always provided him with valuable advice on research methods.

The Chen brothers were born into a large family of five sons and three daughters. Their ancestors were illiterate, impoverished peasants.

"Before attending the university, the farthest place I had ever been to was the county seat. Before adulthood, I had barely seen an automobile, let alone imagined living the life of a scientist," Chen Jianfei said.