6 scientists awarded Shaw Prize in Hong Kong virtually

HONG KONG -- The awards presentation ceremony of the annual Shaw Prize for 2020 was held online on Thursday, with six scientists commended for their prominent work in the prize's three categories of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences.

The Hong Kong-based Shaw Prize Foundation announced the list of 2020 laureates in May last year. The six scientists are from the United States, Britain, Germany and Israel. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person awarding ceremony originally scheduled for September 2020 was cancelled.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam delivered a video speech at the virtual awarding ceremony Thursday.

In her speech, Lam noted that the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized how much people count on scientists' continuing pursuit of excellence. A case in point is the rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines, giving people hope for overcoming the pandemic.

Lam said that China's national 14th Five-Year Plan showed the central government's support for the HKSAR to develop an international innovation and technology hub, which she believes is a strong recognition of Hong Kong's strengths, particularly in basic research, and the synergy in innovation and technology that is evident in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"We will spare no effort in seizing these opportunities and one of the key initiatives is the Global STEM Professorship Scheme that will be launched later this year. By offering well-funded professorship and research support, the scheme aims to recruit overseas and mainland scientists to come to work in Hong Kong," she said.

For the 2020 Shaw Prize, the Astronomy category went to Roger D Blandford from Stanford University, the United Sates, for his foundational contributions to theoretical astrophysics, especially concerning the fundamental understanding of active galactic nuclei, the formation and collimation of relativistic jets, the energy extraction mechanism from black holes, and the acceleration of particles in shocks and their relevant radiation mechanisms.

The Life Science and Medicine prize was awarded in equal shares to Gero Miesenbock from the University of Oxford, Britain, Peter Hegemann from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and Georg Nagel from the University of Wurzburg, Germany. They were commended for their achievements in the development of optogenetics, a technology that has revolutionized neuroscience.

The Mathematical Sciences prize was awarded in equal shares to Alexander Beilinson from the University of Chicago, the United Sates, and David Kazhdan from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. They were commended for their huge influence on and profound contributions to representation theory, as well as many other areas of mathematics.

Established under the auspices of Run Run Shaw in November 2002, the Shaw Prize is an international award to honor individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or applications, and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind. Each prize bears a monetary award of 1.2 million U.S. dollars.