4 scientists worldwide win Shaw Prize in 2024

Guests pose for photos after a press conference announcing this year's Shaw laureates in Hong Kong, south China, May 21, 2024. Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize's three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

HONG KONG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize's three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday.

The Astronomy prize went to Shrinivas R Kulkarni, George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology, for his discoveries about millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other variable or transient astronomical objects.

The Life Science and Medicine prize is awarded in equal shares to Swee Lay Thein from the National Institutes of Health in the United States and Stuart Orkin from Harvard Medical School, for their discovery of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch that facilitated treatment for devastating blood diseases affecting millions of people worldwide.

The Mathematical Sciences prize went to Peter Sarnak, Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University, for his development of the arithmetic theory of thin groups and the affine sieve by bringing together number theory, analysis, combinatorics, dynamics, geometry and spectral theory.

Each prize carries a cash award of 1.2 million U.S. dollars. The award ceremony will be held in Hong Kong on Nov. 12. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong, the Shaw Prize is an international recognition of remarkable scientific achievements. It is administered by the Shaw Prize Foundation and has been awarded annually since 2004. ■

This photo shows a press conference announcing this year's Shaw laureates in Hong Kong, south China, May 21, 2024. Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize's three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

Photos of this year's Shaw laureates are displayed on a screen at a press conference in Hong Kong, south China, May 21, 2024. Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize's three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

Chair of the Shaw Prize Council Kenneth Young (C) speaks at a press conference announcing this year's Shaw laureates in Hong Kong, south China, May 21, 2024. Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize's three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)