TWAS Awards are awarded in nine fields: Agricultural Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Earth, Astronomy and Space Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Mathematics, Medical Sciences, Physics, and Social Sciences. There are 13 prize winners: one from Brazil, four from China and three from Taiwan, China; one from India; one from Kenya; one from Malaysia; one from Türkiye and one from South Africa. The award winners include four women.
Each TWAS Award carries a cash award of USD10,000. The winners will lecture about their research at next General Conference to be tentatively held in 2024, when they will also receive a plaque.
2024 TWAS Award in Agricultural Sciences, shared
Sunday EKESI of Kenya & ZHAO Fang-Jie of China
- Professor Ekesi is recognized for his impactful contributions to fruit fly management to facilitate growth in the horticulture industry in Africa.
- Professor Zhao is recognized for his discovery of the mechanisms controlling the accumulation of essential and toxic elements in crops, and the development of technical solutions to enhance food safety and improve nutrition.
2024 TWAS Award in Biology, shared
TSAY Yi-Fang of Taiwan, China & Raghavan VARADARAJAN of India
- Professor Tsay is recognized for her breakthrough research on the transport, signalling and utilization efficiency of nitrate, which changed plant biology.
- Professor Varadarajan is recognized for for his contributions to understanding the relationship between protein sequence, structure and stability, and its application to design immunogens that elicit protective antibodies against HIV-1, influenza and SARS-CoV-2.
2024 TWAS Award in Chemistry, shared
Ilkay ERDOGAN ORHAN of Türkiye & ZHANG Suojiang of China
- Professor Erdogan Orhan is recognized for her fundamental contribution to natural product chemistry and the bioactivity of natural medicines.
- Professor Zhang is recognized for his essential and outstanding contributions to fundamental scientific research and green technology development in the field of ionic liquids and chemical engineering.
2024 TWAS Award in Earth, Astronomy and Space Sciences
XU Xing of China
- Professor Xu is recognized for his fundamental contribution to the understanding of the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds.
2024 TWAS Award in Engineering Sciences
Mohd Sapuan SALIT of Malaysia
- Professor Salit is recognized for his contribution to the properties, conceptual design and materials selection of tropical natural- fibre composites, based on in-depth experimental and design-based investigations.
2024 TWAS Award in Mathematics
YOU Jiangong of China
- Professor You is recognized for his essential contributions to the development of the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theory and applications in differential equations, dynamics systems and the spectral theory of quasi-periodic Schrödinger operators.
2024 TWAS Award in Medical Sciences
WEI Fu-Chan of Taiwan, China
- Professor Wei is recognized for his essential contribution to saving lives and restoring human dignity, bringing about a paradigm shift in the surgical treatment of cancer, trauma and congenital anomalies through innovations and excellency.
2024 TWAS Award in Physics, shared
Andrew FORBES of South Africa & KWO Jueinai of Taiwan, China
- Professor Forbes is recognized for his seminal contributions in creating new forms of classical and quantum states of structured light, thereby advancing photonic-based applications and fundamental sciences.
- Professor Kwo is recognized for her outstanding work in condensed matter research, with the invention of novel thin films for magnetism, superconductivity, nano-electronics and spintronics; and for her pioneering work in the field of artificial magnetic superlattices.
2024 TWAS Award in Social Sciences
Maria Cecilia DE SOUZA MINAYO of Brazil
- Professor De Souza Minayo is recognized for her outstanding contribution to the studies on violence and their impact on health; to the National Policy for the Reduction of Morbidity and Mortality from Accidents and Violence (PNRMAV) of Brazil; and to the development and application of qualitative approaches in public health.