2022 VinFuture Prize honours nine innovators

Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the 2022 VinFuture Prize award ceremony in Hanoi on December 20. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Nine authors of four breakthroughscience and technology achievements generating “Reviving and Reshaping” to humanitywere among those awarded the 2022 VinFuture Prize at a ceremony in Hanoi on December20.

Five scientists won the VinFuture Grand Prize, worth 3million USD, namely SirTimothy John Berners-Lee (the UK), Dr Vinton Gray Cerf (the US), Dr EmmanuelDesurvire (France), Dr Robert Elliot Kahn (the US), and Prof. Sir David NeilPayne (the UK), who made breakthrough inventions in global internet connection technology,which have comprehensively changed means of communications and working and laida stepping stone for modern socio-economic development.

Besides, three Special Prizes worth 500,000 USD each werealso presented.

The Special Prize for innovators with outstandingachievements in emerging fields was bestowed upon Dr Demis Hassabis fromthe UK and Dr John Jumper from the US, who developed artificial intelligencesystem AlphaFold 2 that decodes protein sequences, making a revolution inprotein structure modeling and promoting breakthrough development inbiomedicine, health care, and agriculture.

The Special Prize for innovators fromdeveloping countries went to Prof. Thalappil Pradeep of India, who invented a low-costsystem for filtering water contaminated with arsenic and heavy metal to helpsupply clean water for hundreds of millions of residents in areas affected bywater pollution.

Meanwhile, the Special Prize forfemale innovators honoured Prof. Pamela Christine Ronald of the US, who succeededin isolating the Sub1A gene to create a condition for developing flood-tolerantrice varieties.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (C) presents the VinFuture Grand Prize to the laureates at the ceremony on December 20. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the ceremony, broadcast live globally, Chairman ofthe National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue expressed his delight that the secondseason of VinFuture surpassed the first in terms of both quantity and quality. Itattracted 970 nominations, almost doubling that in the first season, from morethan 70 countries around the world. The rate of nominees who are among the top2% of the world’s most cited researchers also more than doubled.

In addition, the rate of nominees from Asiaincreased to 34.6% and from Africa to 12.4%, rising over 6-fold from 2021. Thatshowed the strong inspiration generated by the Vietnamese-initiated globalscience and technology prize, as well as the great hope for science andtechnology achievements’ contributions to the life of millions of people indeveloping countries and to a more equal world based on science and technology,he noted.

Thetop legislator expressed his hope that aside from honouring the scientists withprominent studies helping create a sustainable living environment for futuregenerations, VinFuture will also help global researchers and inventors realisetheir great aspirations to serve humanity.

The VinFuture Prize was set up by the VinFuture Foundation, anon-profit organisation established on December 20, 2020, by billionaire andfounder of Vingroup Pham Nhat Vuong and his wife, Pham Thu Huong.

The prize aims to honour remarkable scientific andtechnological studies by global inventors and researchers who make meaningfulchanges to the daily life of millions of people.

The third season of VinFuture began as soon as the awardceremony concluded./.

VNA