Tuesday, 28 May 2013.  At today’s press conference in Hong Kong, The Shaw Prize Foundation announced the Shaw Laureates for 2013. Information was posted on the website www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 15:30 (GMT 07:30).

The Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences, each bearing a monetary award of one million US dollars. This will be the tenth year that the Prize has been awarded and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for Monday, 23 September 2013.

The Shaw Laureates

The Shaw Prize in Astronomy is awarded in equal shares to

Professor Steven A Balbus
Savilian Professor of Astronomy, University of Oxford, UK and

Professor John F Hawley
VITA Professor of Astronomy and Associate Dean for the Sciences, University of Virginia, USA

for their discovery and study of the magnetorotational instability, and for demonstrating that this instability leads to turbulence and is a viable mechanism for angular momentum transport in astrophysical accretion disks.

The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine is awarded in equal shares to

Professor Jeffrey C Hall
Professor Emeritus of Biology, Brandeis University, USA,

Professor Michael Rosbash
Peter Gruber Professor of Neuroscience and HHMI Investigator, Brandeis University, USA and

Professor Michael W Young
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor, Rockefeller University, USA

for their discovery of molecular mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms.

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences is awarded to

Professor David L Donoho
Anne T and Robert M Bass Professor of Humanities and Sciences, and
Professor of Statistics, Stanford University, USA

for his profound contributions to modern mathematical statistics and in particular the development of optimal algorithms for statistical estimation in the presence of noise and of efficient techniques for sparse representation and recovery in large data-sets.

Background

Established under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw, the Prize honours individuals, regardless of race, nationality, gender and religious belief, who have 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 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.

28 May 2013   Hong Kong