High school in Anhui congratulates Nobel winning 'son-in-law'  

安徽一中学挂告示祝贺本校“女婿”获诺贝尔奖

The LED screen reading "Congratulations to Eric Betzig, son-in-law of our school, on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry" is set up on the campus of No. 1 Middle School of Bengbu. (Photo: ah.people.cn)

(ECNS) – A middle school in Bengbu, Anhui province, has set up a LED screen on campus to congratulate the new Noble laureate Eric Betzig for his wife graduating from here, according to bbnews.cn.

The screen reads "Congratulations to Eric Betzig, son-in-law of our school, on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry."

Betzig's wife, Ji Na, spent her junior and senior high school years at No.1 Middle School in Bengbu.

Scores of Chinese netizens sneered at the school's move, saying it glorified itself via the achievement of others.

A director with the school said the intention was to publicize outstanding alumnae and alumni, according to people.com.cn.

He noted that as Betzig's wife, Ji has also obtained many achievements in her field. "We just want to encourage students to learn from Ji Na," the director added.

Betzig, a US scientist, was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry last Wednesday along with William E. Moerner and German scientist Stefan W. Hell for "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy".