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VinFuture Prize | |
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Awarded for | Scientific discoveries and technological innovations |
Country | Vietnam |
Presented by | The VinFuture Foundation |
Reward(s) | The VinFuture Grand Prize awards 70 billion VND, approx. 3 million US$ , and three special prizes for Women Innovators, Innovators from Developing Countries, and Emerging Field Innovators - each valued at 500,000 US$ (2021) |
First award | 2021 |
Website | vinfutureprize |
The VinFuture Prize is an international award established in Vietnam in 2020 to recognize scientific and technological research. It is presented annually by the VinFuture Foundation. According to the Foundation, the prize aims to support research with the potential to address global challenges in areas such as health, sustainability, and technology. [1]
Phạm Nhật Vượng, the founder of Vingroup, and his wife, Phạm Thu Hương, established the VinFuture Foundation in 2020. The organization operates as an independent, non-profit entity with the stated mission of recognizing significant innovations in science and technology.[ citation needed ]
In 2020, they also created the VinFuture Prize, an international award intended to acknowledge contributions in fields including health, environment, and artificial intelligence. The prize aims to support research addressing global challenges and is open to nominations worldwide.[ citation needed ]
The Prize Council oversees the evaluation and selection process for the VinFuture Prize, including setting award criteria and choosing Laureates.
The Prize Council is chaired by Sir Richard Henry Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge, [2] and includes members from international universities and research institutions.
There are 15 honorary members recognized for strategic advisory roles, including [3]
The Pre-Screening Committee is responsible for identifying and reviewing qualified nominations based on the selection criteria established by the Prize Council, and for preparing and presenting supporting documents for the shortlist to the Prize Council. [4]
Nominations are compiled and qualified by the VinFuture Prize Secretariat before the pre-screening round, which includes scientists in natural science, health science, agriculture, earth science, environmental science, computer science, and engineering – technology, along with experts in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, biotechnology, new materials, environmental conservation, and other fields.
The nominations are evaluated by the VinFuture Prize Pre-screening Committee, based on three core criteria:
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, must be adhered to by the candidates. [5] [6]
Four scientific discoveries that improve human lives and enhance equitability and sustainability for future generations are selected by the VinFuture Prize Council. A Grand Prize and three special prizes are awarded annually. The prize winners are announced at the VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony. [7] The Grand Prize awards $3 million in funding, and the special prizes award $500,000 in funding each based on the following criteria: [8]
The VinFuture Sci-Tech Week and Award Ceremony are held annually, aiming to foster connections between Vietnam's scientific and technological communities, and the global community. [9] [10]
The VinFuture Sci-Tech Week brings together scientists, politicians, and entrepreneurs from around the world. Scientists gather in Vietnam to participate in the four main events of the VinFuture Sci-Tech Week: a conversation with the Prize Council and Pre-screening Committee, a "Science for Life" Symposium, the inaugural VinFuture Award Ceremony, and a Scientific Dialogue with the inaugural VinFuture Prize Laureates. [9] [11]
The VinFuture Award Ceremony is a formal event attended by Vietnamese government leaders, scientists, and recipients of scientific honors such as the Nobel Prize, Millennium Technology Prize, Turing Award, and others. The award ceremony is broadcast live on local as well as global science and technology platforms. [9]
Year | Ceremony Date | Prize name | Laureate | Nationality | Citation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 20 January 2022 | Grand Prize | Katalin Karikó | ![]() ![]() | for making a significant contribution to the development of mRNA vaccination technology. [12] [13] |
Drew Weissman | ![]() | ||||
Pieter Cullis | ![]() | ||||
Woman Innovator | Zhenan Bao | ![]() | for research on electronic skins that can stretch and heal like normal skins while also being biodegradable. [12] [13] | ||
Innovators from Developing Countries | Salim Abdool Karim | ![]() | for the development of a tenofovir gel that can be used to prevent HIV infection in women. [12] [13] | ||
Quarraisha Abdool Karim | |||||
Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Field | Omar M. Yaghi | ![]() | for designing and synthesizing new types of reticular compounds such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). [12] [13] | ||
2022 | 20 December 2022 | Grand Prize | Tim Berners-Lee | ![]() | for ground-breaking research on global network technology, allowing all forms of information to be reliably communicated, transferred, and shared at the speed of light. [14] |
Vint Cerf | ![]() | ||||
Emmanuel Desurvire | ![]() | ||||
Bob Kahn | ![]() | ||||
David N. Payne | ![]() | ||||
Woman Innovator | Pamela Ronald | ![]() | for breakthroughs in isolating the Sub1A gene, which facilitated the development of submergence tolerant rice varieties, helping feed millions of people in South and Southeast Asia. [14] | ||
Innovators from Developing Countries | Thalappil Pradeep | ![]() | for development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater, helping hundreds of millions of people around the world living with contaminated water get access to clean water. [14] | ||
Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Field | Demis Hassabis | ![]() | for pioneering work on AlphaFold 2, an artificial intelligence program that has revolutionized the modeling of protein structures, accelerating advances in biomedicine, health, and agriculture. [14] | ||
John Jumper | |||||
2023 | 20 December 2023 | Grand Prize | Martin Green | ![]() | for revolutionary innovations that contribute to establishing a sustainable foundation for green energy by utilizing solar cells for production and Lithium-ion batteries for storage. [15] [16] |
M. Stanley Whittingham | ![]() | ||||
Rachid Yazami | ![]() | ||||
Akira Yoshino | ![]() | ||||
Woman Innovator | Susan Solomon | ![]() | for uncovering the mechanism of ozone depletion in Antarctica, which played a key role in the development of the Montreal Protocol. [15] [16] | ||
Innovators from Developing Countries | Gurdev Khush | ![]() | for their noteworthy efforts in developing and promoting disease-resistant rice varieties, such as IR36 and IR64, thereby safeguarding global food security. [15] [16] | ||
Võ Tòng Xuân | ![]() | ||||
Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Field | Daniel J. Drucker | ![]() | for identifying the function of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), leading to the development of widely utilized treatments for diabetes and obesity, and fostering new applications for addressing neurodegenerative diseases. [15] [16] | ||
Joel Habener | ![]() | ||||
Svetlana Mojsov | |||||
Jens Juul Holst | ![]() | ||||
2024 | 6 December 2024 | Grand Prize | Yoshua Bengio | ![]() | For transformational contributions to the advancement of deep learning. |
Geoffrey Hinton | |||||
Jensen Huang | ![]() | ||||
Yann LeCun | |||||
Fei-Fei Li | |||||
Woman Innovator | Kristi Anseth | ![]() | For advancement in design of polymeric biomaterials and methods for biomedical applications. | ||
Innovators from Developing Countries | Firdausi Qadri | ![]() | For innovative improvement of oral cholera vaccination in developing countries. | ||
Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Field | Zelig Eshhar | ![]() | For development of CAR T cell therapy for cancer and other diseases. | ||
Carl H. June | ![]() | ||||
Michel Sadelain |
The nominations have received praise from Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, Chairman of the VinFuture Prize Council and the Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge. [17]
Nobel Laureate Sir Konstantin Novoselov has commented on its "promotion of diversity and inclusion in the global scientific community". [18]