Vietnam's global sci-tech prize receives nearly 600 nominations

"The result has exceeded expectations, particularly for a newly established sci-tech prize opened for nominations less than four months ago, affirming the global scientific community's positive response to VinFuture's mission of serving humanity," organizers said.

VinFuture has attracted prominent scientists and the world's leading research and academic institutions as well as innovators from developing countries. Nearly 100 nominated projects belong to the world’s top 2 percent most-cited scientists, many of whom are laureates of prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize, the Breakthrough Prize, the Tang Prize, the Japan Prize, among others.

While the majority of candidates are from North America (31.6 percent), Asia (33.9 percent), and Europe (21 percent), VinFuture has also received nominations from scientists in Oceania, Latin America, and Africa.

Female scientists were nominated in all four prize categories, accounting for 34.3 percent of the total nominees.

All share the same aspiration of doing science for humanity, offering highly applicable and practical solutions to improve the quality of people's lives.

The prize has attracted nearly 1,200 nominators from the world's most reputable academic circles, including Harvard University, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, the University of Tokyo, and other recognized organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Max Planck Society, and the Chinese Academy of Science.

"We are very pleased to see that the VinFuture Prize, while being the first of its kind from Vietnam, has been received so warmly by the global scientific community. Many prominent scientists have been nominated for the prize. They have made truly meaningful contributions to the future of humanity by tackling global challenges from infectious diseases, environmental pollution, climate change to shortage of natural resources. The nominations for female scientists, scientists from developing countries, as well as pioneers in emerging fields are also very impressive," said Professor Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, University of California, Santa Barbara, Co-Chair of the VinFuture Prize Pre-Screening Committee.

Members of VinFuture Prize Council. Photo by VinFuture.

In addition to the impressive number of nominations and the prestige of nominated scientists and researchers, the VinFuture Prize nominations also show a diversity and depth of researches that address humanity's common challenges.

A significant number of nominated innovations focus on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases on a global scale, sustainable poverty elimination, smart agriculture, clean food supply, renewable energy, and applications of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in education and life.

Going forward, nominations will be reviewed by a 12-member Pre-Screening Committee – prominent scientists and experts from various disciplines and countries – who will present the shortlisted candidates to the Prize Council in August 2021.

Laureates will then be selected independently by the Prize Council comprising 11 distinguished individuals in academia, research, and industry with significant achievements and contributions to advancing human progress.

The VinFuture Grand Prize will be awarded to innovators whose work has been proven to create the largest impact on humanity. It is also one of the world's largest prizes for science and technology to date, valued at $3 million. Additionally, three special prizes will be awarded to innovators from developing countries, female innovators, and innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields, each worth $500,000.

The laureates of the 2021 VinFuture Prize will be announced on December 20, 2021 and the official award ceremony will be held in Vietnam on January 20, 2022.

The VinFuture Prize is a global science and technology prize founded by Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman of Vingroup, and his wife, Pham Thu Huong, to recognize groundbreaking scientific discoveries and technological inventions proven to create, or having the potential to create, better changes in the everyday lives of millions of people and foster a sustainable living environment for future generations.

To learn more, please visit https://vinfutureprize.org/