Tuesday, 23 May 2017.  At today’s press conference in Hong Kong, The Shaw Prize Foundation announced the Shaw Laureates for 2017. Information was posted on the website www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 15:30 (GMT 07:30).

The Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences, each bearing a monetary award of US$1.2 million. This will be the fourteenth year that the Prize has been awarded and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, 26 September 2017.

The Shaw Laureates

The Shaw Prize in Astronomy is awarded to

Simon D M Whit
Director, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany

for his contributions to understanding structure formation in the Universe. With powerful numerical simulations he has shown how small density fluctuations in the early Universe develop into galaxies and other nonlinear structures, strongly supporting a cosmology with a flat geometry, and dominated by dark matter and a cosmological constant.

The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine is awarded in equal shares to

Ian R Gibbons
Visiting Researcher, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, USA and

Ronald D Vale
Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA

for their discovery of microtubule-associated motor proteins: engines that power cellular and intracellular movements essential to the growth, division, and survival of human cells.

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences is awarded in equal shares to

János Kollá
Professor of Mathematics, Princeton University, USA and

Claire Voisin
Professor, Algebraic Geometry Chair, Collège de France, France

for their remarkable results in many central areas of algebraic geometry, which have transformed the field and led to the solution of long-standing problems that had appeared out of reach.

Background

Established in November 2002 under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw, the Prize honours individuals, regardless of race, nationality, gender and religious belief, who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or applications 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 two charities, The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong and The Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust, both dedicated to the promotion of education, scientific and technological research, medical and welfare services, and culture and the arts.

17 June 2017   Hong Kong (Revised)