The Shaw Prize Foundation announced in Hong Kong yesterday the names of the laureates of the Shaw Prize 2006.

The award consists of three prizes, given out annually, for astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. Each prize comes with a monetary award of US$1 million.

Professor Wu Wenjun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing was honored with the Mathematical Sciences Award for his contributions to the new interdisciplinary field of mathematics and mechanization.

Sharing the award with Wu was Professor David Mumford of Brown University. He was recognized for his contributions to mathematics, and to the new interdisciplinary fields of pattern theory and vision research.

The Astronomy Award was jointly awarded to Professor Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the University of California, Professor Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and Professor Brian Schmidt of the Mount Stromlo Observatory of the Australian National University.

They are commended for discovering that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating, implying in the simplest interpretation that the energy density of space is non-vanishing even in the absence of any matter and radiation.

The Life Science and Medicine Award went to Professor Xiaodong Wang of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, for his discovery of the biochemical basis of programmed cell death, a vital process that balances cell birth and defends against cancer.

Established in 2002 under the auspices of Run Run Shaw -- the 99-year-old Hong Kong film producer and billionaire -- the Shaw Prize honors individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or application, and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.

It is an international award managed and administered by the Shaw Prize Foundation based in Hong Kong.
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2006)