The Shaw Prize Award Presentation Ceremony 2024: 21 Years of Celebrating Excellence in Scientific Achievements

The 2024 Shaw Laureates, Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni, Dr Swee Lay Thein, Professor Stuart Orkin, and Professor Peter Sarnak, were then presented with their awards by Professor Reinhard Genzel, Chair of the Board of Adjudicators.

During his acceptance speech, Shaw Laureate in Astronomy, Professor Kulkarni thanked the Caltech Optical Observatories and the key members of the Zwicky Transient Facility, the project that was recognised by the Shaw Prize. He also expressed gratitude to his students, postdoctoral fellows and senior colleagues who helped exploit the data, resulting in an explosion of discoveries and papers.

Dr Thein and Professor Orkin, recognised for their discovery of the genetics and molecular mechanisms underlying sickle cell anaemia and β thalassaemia, emphasised that although significant strides have been made in gene-editing therapies for these blood disorders, they remained largely out of reach for many of the affected individuals. They expressed hope for treatments that would be universally accessible to all patients.

Professor Sarnak, who once served on the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences Selection Committee, commended the Prize for its support for academic and scientific research. The work cited by the Shaw Prize, he recalled, was born at a conference in Hangzhou in 2005. Professor Sarnak was recognised for his development of the arithmetic theory of thin groups and the affine sieve.

During the ceremony, Professor Scott D Emr, Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine 2021, was also presented with his gold medal. He received the certificate in his home country back in 2021. Each Shaw Prize also carries a monetary award of US$1.2 million.  

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-shaw-prize-award-presentation-ceremony-2024-21-years-of-celebrating-excellence-in-scientific-achievements-302303156.html