A HUDDERSFIELD University professor who escaped oppression in China won the Outstanding Asian Woman of Achievement Award last night.

Prof Xiangqian Jiang - known as Jane - fought her way up from the assembly line of a bus factory to become a respected scientist.

The 51-year-old, who lives in Lindley, works at the university's Centre for Precision Technologies.

She researches topics ranging from the depth of wrinkles in human skin for the beauty industry, to how to improve the working life of artificial hip joints.

She is thought to be the first woman from the Chinese mainland to become a full professor in Britain in any subject.

Her schooling was cut short at the age of 15 when she was sent to work as a chassis assembly worker during Mao's cultural revolution in China. During mindless graft for two decades she never gave up on her ambition to become a scientist.

She taught herself at night school, studying for up to five hours every evening to become proficient in engineering, maths and science until she was finally able to go to university.

"I had a strong scientific curiosity and I was determined to go to university so that I could contribute more to society," she explained.

At the same time, she brought up her daughter, who is now a 24-year-old Cambridge graduate and biochemist.

Prof Jiang came to Britain at the age of 40 to work as a research scientist at Birmingham University before moving to Huddersfield.

She has published more than 130 papers, co-authored four books and is an editor of two special issues for the Institute of Physics 2006.

Her outstanding achievement award was presented at the Awa Lloyds TSB Awards ceremony held at the Park Lane Hilton in London.

A Huddersfield University spokesman said today: "It's excellent news and well deserved, we are all really pleased for Jane.

"As a researcher, Jane works at the highest international level on projects that are at the cutting edge of science. She certainly deserves the recognition that she is now receiving."