A presentation ceremony of the annual Shaw Prize was held Monday evening in Hong Kong, with six scientists commended for their prominent work in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical science.

Hong Kong Chief Executive C. Y. Leung presented the awards to the six laureates at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Each prize bears a monetary award of 1 million US dollars.

The Shaw Prize in Astronomy was awarded in equal shares to Steven A. Balbus, Savilian professor of Astronomy, University of Oxford, UK and John F Hawley, associate dean for the sciences and VITA professor and chair of Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, USA for their discovery and study of the magnetorotational instability.

The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine went to Jeffrey C. Hall, professor emeritus of Brandeis University, Michael Rosbash, professor of biology and investigator of HHMI at Brandeis University, and Michael W. Young, vice president for academic affairs and professor at Rockefeller University for their discovery of molecular mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms.

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences is awarded to David L. Donoho, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass professor of the humanities and sciences, and professor of statistics at Stanford University, USA for his profound contributions to modern mathematical statistics and in particular the development of optimal algorithms for statistical estimation in the presence of noise and of efficient techniques for sparse representation and recovery in large data- sets.

Established in 2002 under the auspices of Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong's famous industrialist, the Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical science.

The prize honors individuals who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or application and whose work has a positive and profound impact on the mankind. There have been altogether 48 laureates since the first Shaw Prize Awarding Ceremony took place in 2004.