Shenzheners gave a scientist a hero's welcome Thursday upon his return to the city after having won a State-level prize for his video camera invention.

Professor Li Jingzhen, who teaches at Shenzhen University, and his team received a second prize for their invention at the just-concluded national science conference. The team won the prize for creating one of the world's fastest cameras, which can take as many as 2.24 million pictures within a second. The honor is the highest national science prize a Shenzhener has ever won.

Colleagues and students showered Li with flowers and congratulations when he entered the arrivals hall at Shenzhen International Airport Thursday.

"I was very excited and happy when receiving the honor," said Li, whose camera is expected to record occurrences such as explosions, which happen too fast to be recorded by ordinary cameras. Foreign countries ban the export of such cameras to China because of the cameras' possible military applications.

Li said he had spent about eight years on the project.

The 65-year-old professor spent most of his weekends and evenings at the lab, said Ruan Shuangchen, vice president of Shenzhen University. "He is one of the hardest working teachers at the university," said Ruan.

Li, who graduated from the prestigious Qinghua University, had worked with Xi'an Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences for 25 years before he joined Shenzhen University in 1993.

"The youth and vigor of Shenzhen City had attracted me here," said Li.

Li said he was undertaking anther optical research project, but refused to reveal details.

Editor: Yan