21 October 2025 – The Shaw Prize presented its awards to four 2025 Shaw Laureates today at the 2025 Award Presentation Ceremony, held in the Grand Hall of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Ceremony was officiated by the Hon John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China, and was graced by the presence of Mr Luo Yonggang, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR, and Mr Li Yongsheng, Acting Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong SAR. Approximately 600 guests from the HKSAR Government, and political, business, science and education sectors participated in the event.
In his opening remarks, Professor Kenneth Young, Chair of The Shaw Prize Council, expressed deep sorrow at the passing of Professor Chen-ning Yang, a founding member of the Shaw Prize. Professor Young highlighted Professor Yang’s pivotal role in shaping the Prize from its inception, and his profound influence on its development and global prominence. On behalf of The Shaw Prize Foundation, Professor Young extended heartfelt condolences to Professor Yang’s family, friends, and the global scientific community.
The Hon John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China, extended heartfelt congratulations to the Shaw Laureates for their exceptional contributions to science and civilisation. Mr Lee emphasised the Government’s commitment to advancing innovation and technology, highlighting its transformative impact on Hong Kong’s post-secondary education. He paid tribute to the many science laureates, world-class academics, and researchers in the city, expressing confidence in their continued role in propelling Hong Kong’s rise as an international education and I&T hub.
Professors John Richard Bond and George Efstathiou, Shaw Laureates in Astronomy 2025; Professor Wolfgang Baumeister, Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine 2025; and Professor Kenji Fukaya, Shaw Laureate in Mathematical Sciences 2025, were then presented with their awards by Professor Reinhard Genzel, Chair of the Board of Adjudicators. Each Shaw Prize also carries a monetary award of US$1.2 million.
Professors Bond and Efstathiou, recognised for their studies of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, reminisced about their decades-long friendship and collaboration. They celebrated their personal and intellectual connections, and global network of collaborators that shaped their work.
During his acceptance speech, Professor Baumeister, recognised for his pioneering work in cryogenic-electron tomography, looked back on his journey to visualise cellular structures in their native environment, emphasised the collaborative nature of scientific breakthroughs, and advocated for science without borders.
Professor Fukaya, whose work spans Riemannian geometry, symplectic geometry, and gauge theory, reflected on the solitary nature of mathematical work and the rare but meaningful recognition it brings. He expressed heartfelt thanks to his collaborators and his family, for their unwavering support throughout his mathematical journey.
The Shaw Prize in Astronomy 2025 is awarded in equal shares to
John Richard Bond
University Professor, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Canada and
George Efstathiou
Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics (1909), University of Cambridge, UK
for their pioneering research in cosmology, in particular for their studies of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. Their predictions have been verified by an armada of ground-, balloon- and space-based instruments, leading to precise determinations of the age, geometry, and mass-energy content of the universe.
The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2025 is awarded to
Wolfgang Baumeister
Director Emeritus and Scientific Member, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany; and
Distinguished Adjunct Professor, ShanghaiTech University, PRC
for his pioneering development and use of cryogenic-electron tomography (cryo-ET), an imaging technique that enables three-dimensional visualisation of biological samples, including proteins, macromolecular complexes, and cellular compartments as they exist in their natural cellular settings.
The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences 2025 is awarded to
Kenji Fukaya
Professor, Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications and the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University, PRC
for his pioneering work on symplectic geometry, especially for envisioning the existence of a category — nowadays called the Fukaya category — consisting of Lagrangians on a symplectic manifold, for leading the monumental task of constructing it, and for his subsequent ground-breaking and impactful contributions to symplectic topology, mirror symmetry, and gauge theory.
About the Shaw Prize
The Shaw Prize was established under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw in November 2002 and was first presented in 2004 to honour individuals, regardless of race, nationality, gender and religious belief, who have recently 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 consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences, each bearing a monetary award of US$1.2 million. This is the twenty-second year that the Prize has been awarded.
