The Third Hong Kong Prize Has Reached Such a High LevelThe Third Hong Kong Prize Has Reached Such a High Level
The winner of this prize will receive HK$100 million, while the second place prize is a whopping HK$52.5 million. This is the third time that a hongkong prize has reached such a high level. Previous first-prize winners were Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, and Lee Cheuk-yan.
The award is given to researchers for their outstanding contributions that have had a direct and profound impact on scientific, business, finance, and engineering applications. The winner will be invited to City University of Hong Kong to receive the prize and give a talk about his/her research work.
This year is the 20th anniversary of the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards (“HLMA”), a biennial competition that inspires secondary school students to explore beyond boundaries and fulfil their potential through innovative research in science and mathematics. The prestigious HLMA, co-organized by HKUST and Hang Lung Properties Limited, has so far seen more than 2,600 students from over 200 schools participate with more than 460 research reports.
Each of the winning teams will receive a cash prize of up to HK$2 million, a certificate, and a trophy. The organiser will also provide support for the team to further develop their research work and bring it to international standards. The prize field rewards cannot be given to more than five persons (or teams) in a single year, and the awards are given to individuals or organizations for their contributions in fields related to Hong Kong’s scientific and technological innovation, including artificial intelligence and robotics, life and health, new materials and energy, and advanced manufacturing and FinTech.
However, this year the award’s reputation suffered a setback as the jury committee was widely criticized by Chinese netizens for its one-sided reportage of the protests in Hong Kong last summer. Sina Weibo users commented that “the Pulitzer Prize only needs those photos that can stigmatize and smear China or Hong Kong police officers”, while another user questioned the jury’s impartiality. It is worth mentioning that the Hong Kong prize has been awarded for over 20 years, and has a history of being dominated by Chinese scientists. This year, the prize received an influx of applications from mainland China, reflecting the country’s growing interest in the event. A record number of 107 nominations were received, representing the highest ever submission rate since the award’s inception. Nominees were evaluated by a panel of judges made up of experts from different sectors and industries. The judging process was conducted in a blind manner, with the panel members not knowing each other’s identity. The results were announced in May. This year’s winners were Kyan Cheung Ka-Hin and Ethan Soong Jon-Yi from Harrow International School Hong Kong for their paper titled “On the Properties of the Semigroup Generated by the RL Fractional Integral”.