The Shaw Prize, the Nobel Prize of the East, established by Sir Run Run Shaw in 2002, a Hong Kong billionaire and philanthropist known for his movie kingdom and donations to universities, has selected four academics working in the United States for their contributions to:
1. life science and medicine,
2. astronomy
3. mathematical sciences.
Peter Goldreich, 68, a professor at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study,
won the astronomy prize for "his lifetime achievements in theoretical astrophysics and planetary sciences."
Robert Lefkowitz, 64, a professor of biochemistry at Duke University and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute won the life science and medicine awad for " his relentless elucidation of the major receptor system that mediates the response of cells and organs to drugs and hormones."
71-year-old Robert Langlands, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, and Richard Taylor, a 45-year-old professor at Harvard University, shared the mathematics prize for "a grand unifying vision of mathematics that connects prime numbers with symmetry."
Nobel Prize winners get 10 million Sweden crowns ($1.4 million).
The Shaw Prize is increasing in its influence not only because of its size but because past laureates are being recognized for their acheivements.
Past winners, include Shiing-shen Chern, Richard Doll, P.James E. Peebles, Andrew John Wiles, David Mumford, and others.
What would you like to receive a Nobel Prize or Shaw Prize for doing?
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