Thursday, 27 May. At today’s press conference in Hong Kong, The Shaw Prize Foundation announced The Shaw Laureates for 2010. Information was posted on the website www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 1530 (GMT 0730).

The Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences, each prize bearing a monetary award of one million US dollars. This will be the seventh year that the Prize has been awarded and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, 28 September 2010.

Details of the Shaw Laureates

The Shaw Prize in Astronomy is awarded in equal shares to

Professor Charles L Bennett
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, USA,

Professor Lyman A Page Jr
Henry DeWolf Smyth Professor of Physics, Princeton University, USA and

Professor David N Spergel
Charles A Young Professor of Astronomy and Chair, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, USA

for their leadership of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) experiment, which has enabled precise determinations of the fundamental cosmological parameters, including the geometry, age and composition of the universe.

The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine is awarded to

Professor David Julius
Professor and Chairman of Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, USA

for his seminal discoveries of molecular mechanisms by which the skin senses painful stimuli and temperature and produces pain hypersensitivity.

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences is awarded to

Professor Jean Bourgain
Professor of  Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

for his profound work in mathematical analysis and its application to partial differential equations, mathematical physics, combinatorics, number theory, ergodic theory and theoretical computer science.

Background

Established under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw, the Prize honours individuals, regardless of race, nationality and religious belief, who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or application and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.

The Shaw Prize is an international award managed and administered by The Shaw Prize Foundation based in Hong Kong. Mr Shaw has also founded The Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust and The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong, both dedicated to the promotion of education, scientific and technological research, medical and welfare services, and culture and the arts.

27 May 2010, Hong Kong