Winners of Xplorer Prize for young Chinese scientists announced

A cohort of 50 winners of the 2022 Xplorer Prize, which honors young scientists working full-time in China, was unveiled Thursday, with the youngest awardee born in the 1990s.

This year the field of medical sciences has been newly included in the award category, and five clinical researchers were honored.

Each winner will be awarded a total of 3 million yuan (US430,000) over the next five years by the Tencent Foundation, according to the organizers.

The Xplorer Prize was jointly initiated in 2018 by Tencent Chairman and CEO Pony Ma and 14 scientists to support full-time science professionals under the age of 45, based in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, in 10 areas of fundamental science and cutting-edge technologies, including mathematics and physics, advanced manufacturing, and energy and environmental sciences.

Wang Guangyu, an awardee in the category of Information and Electronics Technologies, is the first prize winner born in the 1990s. Her research work focused on translating Artificial Intelligence tech into medical treatment.

Mai Peiran (Pui In Mak), a semiconductor scientist, is the first awardee from Macau. Material scientists Yin Xiaobo and Fan Zhiyong from Hong Kong were awarded for their contributions to advanced interdisciplinary studies.

As of 2022, the Xplorer Prize has funded 200 promising young scientists, according to the organizers.