Wednesday, June 21. At today¡¦s press conference in Hong Kong, The Shaw Prize Foundation announced The Shaw Laureates for 2006. Information was posted on the website www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 16:30 (GMT 08:30).

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 third year that the Prize has been awarded and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2006.

Details of the Shaw Laureates

Astronomy ¡V awarded jointly to Professor Saul Perlmutter of the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA; Professor Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA; and Professor Brian Schmidt of the Mount Stromlo Observatory of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia for discovering that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating, implying in the simplest interpretation that the energy density of space is non-vanishing even in the absence of any matter and radiation.

Life Science and Medicine ¡V awarded to Professor Xiaodong Wang of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA for his discovery of the biochemical basis of programmed cell death, a vital process that balances cell birth and defends against cancer.

Mathematical Sc iences ¡V awarded jointly to Professor David Mumford of the Brown University, USA for his contributions to mathematics, and to the new interdisciplinary fields of pattern theory and vision research; and Professor Wu Wentsun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Beijing, China for his contributions to the new interdisciplinary field of mathematics and mechanization.

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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.