Announcement of 2022 Future Science Prize Winners: Wenhui Li, Xueming Yang, Ngaiming Mok

BEIJING, Aug. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Future Science Prize committee announces the winners of 2022 on August 21^st. Prof. Wenhui Li from National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, China; Tsinghua Institute of Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research receives the Future Science Prize in life sciences for his discovery of the Hepatitis B and D virus receptor, sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP). This discovery facilitates the development of more effective treatment for hepatitis B and D. Prof. Xueming Yang from Southern University of Science and Technology; Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences receives the Future Science Prize in physical sciences for developing new-generation molecular beam techniques with high resolution and sensitivity for state-resolved reaction dynamics studies, revealing quantum resonances and geometric phase effects in chemical reactions. Prof. Ngaiming Mok from the University of Hong Kong receives the Future Science Prize in mathematics and computer science, for developing the theory of Varieties of Minimal Rational Tangents in algebraic geometry to solve several long-standing problems and proving Ax-Schanuel’s conjecture for Shimura varieties.

The Future Science Prize is a privately-funded science award initiated by a group of scientists and entrepreneurs. The Future Science Prize aims to celebrate the accomplishments of scientists who have made extraordinary scientific contributions. The laureates will be awarded for achievements that:

1. have made significant global impacts;
2. be original with long-term importance, or have passed the test of time; and
3. be completed mainly in the Mainland of China, Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan. There is no restriction on the nationalities of laureates.

There are three major categories at present, namely the "Life Science Prize", the "Physical Science Prize", and the "Mathematics and Computer Science Prize", with each award of 1 million US dollars respectively.

The Future Science Prize has been awarded to 27 laureates since 2016. All laureates are highly accomplished, widely recognized scientists whose research has made extraordinary impacts in life sciences, physical sciences, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science.

The 2022 Future Science Prize Week and the Award Ceremony will be held in November.