Vietnam-based VinFuture Foundation honored four scientific breakthroughs this year, with a US$3 million Grand Prize awarded to five scientists and three Special Prizes worth $500,000 each to three other researchers at an awarding ceremony held in Hanoi on Friday.

The 2024 VinFuture prize award ceremony, which was broadcast live nationally, took place in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his deputy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, international ambassadors, and scientists from around the world.

The four winning works were selected from nearly 1,500 nominations in various fields, such as computer science, public health and global health, material science, and generative medicine, from more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.

This year’s $3 million VinFuture Grand Prize was shared by Prof. Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian computer scientist; Prof. Geoffrey E. Hinton, a British-Canadian computer scientist and cognitive psychologist; Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of the U.S.-based chipmaker Nvidia; Prof. Yann LeCun, a French-American pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; and Prof. Fei-Fei Li, a Chinese-American AI researcher, for their transformational contributions to the advancement of deep learning.

In addition to the VinFuture Grand Prize, three 2024 VinFuture Special Prizes, each valued at $500,000, have been awarded to the winners of three categories.

Professors Zelig Eshhar, Carl H. June, and Michel Sadelain won the Special Prize for Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields for development of CAR T-cell therapy for cancer and other diseases.

The Special Prize for Innovators from Developing Countries went to Bangladeshi Dr. Firdausi Qadri for innovative improvement of oral cholera vaccination in developing countries.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R, 1st) presents the VinFuture Special Prizes to the three winners at the awarding ceremony in Hanoi, December 6, 2024. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Meanwhile, Professor Kristi S. Anseth grasped the Special Prize for Women Innovators for advancement in design of polymeric biomaterials and methods for biomedical applications.

Commenting on the results of this year’s VinFuture Prize, Prof. Richard Friend, FRS, VinFuture Prize Council Chair, stated that the 2024 VinFuture Prize Laureates have all made advances that have changed the world, and have brought unexpected and powerful new tools.  

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Chinh highly appreciated the significance of the VinFuture Prize in honoring groundbreaking research and inventions with far-reaching impacts, helping humanity overcome difficulties and reach new heights of development.

“The works honored today are all breakthrough initiatives to solve common challenges and contribute to shaping the future of the world,” the PM commented.

The VinFuture Prize has become one of the world’s prestigious annual science awards, inspiring global cooperation and connecting creative ideas to address challenges, Chinh added.  

With four successful seasons, the VinFuture Prize has solidified its position as one of the world’s most prestigious science and technology awards.

This year, VinFuture chose the message ‘Resilient Rebound,’ with a wish that humanity resiliently breaks through difficulties to build a more prosperous life through the door of science and technology.

Established on International Human Solidarity Day on December 20, 2020, the VinFuture Foundation is a non-profit organization co-founded by Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, founder and chairman of Vietnam's biggest private conglomerate Vingroup, and his spouse, Pham Thu Huong. 

By offering the VinFuture Prize, one of the largest annual prizes globally, VinFuture Foundation honors transformative scientific and technological innovations that contribute to significantly improving the lives of millions of people worldwide.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!