Shaw Prize for Astronomy Goes to LIGO Creators Drever, Thorne & Weiss

At today’s press conference in Hong Kong, The Shaw Prize Foundation announced the Shaw Laureates for 2016. Information was posted on the website http://www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 15:30 (GMT 07:30).

The Shaw Prize consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences. The monetary award for each prize has been increased from US$1 million to US$1.2 million starting from this year. This will be the thirteenth year that the Prize has been awarded and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, 27 September 2016.

The 2016 Shaw Prize in Astronomy is awarded in equal shares to

* Ronald W. P. Drever, Professor of Physics, Emeritus, California Institute of Technology, USA,

* Kip S. Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, California Institute of Technology, USA, and

*Rainer Weiss, Professor Emeritus in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA,

for conceiving and designing the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), whose recent direct detection of gravitational waves opens a new window in astronomy, with the first remarkable discovery being the merger of a pair of stellar mass black holes.

Background

Established under the auspices of Mr. Run Run Shaw, the Prize honors individuals, regardless of race, nationality, gender and religious belief, who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or applications and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.

The Shaw Prize is an international award managed and administered by The Shaw Prize Foundation based in Hong Kong. Mr. Shaw has also founded The Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust and The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong, both dedicated to the promotion of education, scientific and technological research, medical and welfare services, and culture and the arts.