First "New World Mathematics Awards" announced in Hangzhou, China
Sponsored by New World Development Company Limited ("New World Group" or the "Group"; Hong Kong stock code: 0017), the First "New World Mathematics Awards" was announced in a presentation ceremony and dinner in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province on 17 December 2007. The award ceremony is one of the main opening events of the six-day-long Fourth International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians ("ICCM"), a total of 24 young Chinese mathematics thesis awardees and over 200 guests of mathematics community from all over the world have attended the ceremony. Ms Sheng Chang-li, Vice Governor of Zhejiang Province, Mr Cai Qi, Mayor of Hangzhou are the local guests of honor while Managing Director of New World Group, Mr and Mrs Henry Cheng and the world renowned mathematician Professor Yau Shing-tung hosted and presented the awards.
"New World Mathematics Awards" was first initiated and established by Dr Henry Cheng and Professor Yau Shing-tung in September 2007, with funding from the New World Group and China Young Leaders Development Project. Organized by ICCM and with the first Awards co-organized by Zhejiang University, "New World Mathematics Awards" encourages outstanding mathematics students of Chinese descendant in their pursuit of mathematical truth and strengthen academic exchanges. Candidates are the undergraduate, master and doctoral mathematics students of Chinese descendant around the world that have completed or defended his/her thesis in the previous three years.
Executive Director of New World Group and Chairman of China Young Leaders Foundation, Mr Adrian Cheng Chi-kong remarked, "New World Group has intended to establish this award to encourage young people to pursue and strive for breakthrough in academic fields. It is anticipated to become one of the most influential academic awards in the world. On the same token, "New World Mathematics Awards" is the first major award funded by the China Young Leaders Development Project. Dedicated to assisting the development of young people to achieve their dreams, assume social mission and fulfill citizen responsibility, China Young Leaders Foundation sets forth to nurture more world class Chinese mathematics leaders for the country through supporting and funding this award."
Well over 100 academic theses have been received since the announcement of the "New World Mathematics Awards" in September 2007. Topics of the thesis include Pure or Applied Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Biomathematics etc. All the theses have been vigorously judged by a joint panel of international and mainland judging committees. A total of six Doctor Thesis Awards (two gold prizes and four silver prizes), six Master Thesis Awards (one gold prizes and five silver prizes) and ten Thesis Awards (five gold prizes and five silver prizes) are chosen. There are also a few honorable mentions. The awardees are from well known colleges such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Harvard University, Stanford University and Universite Paris-Sud 11 etc. The next "New World Mathematics Awards" will be announced every three years during the ICCM event in the year of 2010.
Renowned mathematician and ICCM Chairman Professor Yau Shing-tung spoke at the ceremony, "The Chinese never lack of really bright students. We hope to discover and nurture future generation of mathematics leaders, encouraging more outstanding young Chinese to devote themselves to mathematics research. I am delighted to find the overall academic level of the awarded theses is generally high. Some of the awardees have already attained international academic results in their respective research area, and have their theses published in top-notch international periodicals. I certainly hope that these young students could continue their effort and contribute in the development of mathematics in the Mainland"
New World Group has been at the forefront of nurturing the leaders of the future by promoting the exchange and mixing of young people from the Mainland and Hong Kong, through actively participating in various projects. Those have been successfully undertaken in 2007 include Chinese Culture Week in which young people from 56 ethnic groups had been invited to Hong Kong to attend a series of activities with the youth in Hong Kong; Wu Zhi Qiao (Bridge to China) Charitable Foundation in which the Group has donated five million Hong Kong dollar as the seed money; "My Generation of Chinese" - Guangdong-Hong Kong Student Exchange Programme; and Youth in Excellence - Advantages and Cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland Youth 10 Years after the Establishment of the HKSAR. New World Group will in the future continue its support of youth development in the Mainland and Hong Kong, so that they could become responsible and dedicated citizen in the future.