The 2015 Hong Kong Prize Winners Announced
The Prize is founded by the Bank of Hong Kong and aims to attract world-class scientific talent to the city by supporting forward-thinking scientists and helping them form an active research and innovation hub in the territory. A review board, comprising an independent Review Committee and Compliance Oversight Team, evaluates candidates based on their scientific research achievements, their application or transformation and the social or economic value created.
This year, the top prize was awarded to a team of researchers from HKUST for their development of a new treatment method for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The treatment is less invasive than existing options and promises to be a faster-acting alternative to drugs. It also offers a much more targeted approach to AD, which is the most common cause of dementia worldwide.
Besides, another team of HKUST researchers received a special award for developing an intelligent floor mat that can help prevent elderly people from falling over, a technology that has been hailed as the best of its kind in Asia and beyond. The other awards were given to a range of innovations that could benefit the community, including a personalised health tracker that can monitor blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose; a water-purifying plant that produces high-quality drinking water; and an artificial intelligence system that uses deep learning to predict the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.
Art also played a big part in the prize ceremony, with Hong Kong artists taking up almost two-thirds of the shortlist, the highest representation ever for the competition. Sameen Agha, an artist from Pakistan, won the $30,000 Grand Prize for her sculpture A Home is a Terrible Place to Love, which depicts a house dismantling itself like a cardboard box. Michelle Fung from Hong Kong won the Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Prize for her work Red Bean Stalk, while Demet from the Philippines took the Public Vote Prize with his painting PPE, Paint Palette Emulation.
The award ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Tuesday. It was attended by government officials and representatives of the sponsoring company. In addition to the prize winners, other attendees included a number of celebrities and members of the media. The event was broadcast live by TVB and streamed online by TVB Pearl. It was also shown in more than 120 countries and territories around the world. The awards were presented by celebrity host Lee Hom-ming and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts vice-chancellor Dr. Charles Mok. They congratulated the winning teams on their remarkable accomplishments and encouraged them to continue to strive for excellence in both academics and sports. They also thanked the judging panel and organisers for their work in organising the competition. The winners will receive their prizes at a later ceremony.