Three scientists are awarded the 2022 Future Science Prize, Aug 21, 2022. (Photo/China News Service)

Three scientists on Sunday were awarded the 2022 Future Science Prize, the first Chinese non-governmental science award jointly initiated by groups of scientists and entrepreneurs.

Li Wenhui, a professor with the Tsinghua University, won the prize in life sciences for discovering hepatitis B and D virus receptor, sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide. The discovery could help develop more effective drugs to treat the diseases.

The winner of the prize in physical sciences was Yang Xueming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He developed new-generation molecular beam techniques with high resolution and sensitivity for state-resolved reaction dynamics studies, revealing quantum resonances and geometric phase effects in chemical reactions.

Ngaiming Mok, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, won the prize in mathematics and computer science for developing the theory of Varieties of Minimal Rational Tangents in algebraic geometry to solve several long-standing problems and proving Ax-Schanuel's conjecture for Shimura varieties.

Founded in 2016, the Future Science Prize aims to push forward research in basic science. It awards scientists who have made significant research achievements in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Twenty-seven scientists including famous agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, physicist Xue Qikun and biologist Shi Yigong have been awarded the prize so far.