Macao Science Center Participates in the Shaw Prize Awards Ceremony

And Organizes Exhibitions and Lectures to Educate the Public about Fast Radio Bursts

    The Shaw Prize Awards Ceremony 2023 was held on November 12 at the Grand Hall of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Curator Sio Hon Pan, Board Member and Executive Committee Member, Deputy Curator Cheong Hung Fat, and Mr. Charles Si, Director of the Planetarium Department of Macao Science Center, represented the Center to take part in this academic event. To make the public learn more about the Shaw Prize Laureates in Astronomy and their major scientific achievements, the Center has held an exhibition entitled "The Shaw Prize 2023" and held a lecture last Saturday (November 18) to introduce the importance and basic knowledge of fast radio bursts.

    The Shaw Prize was established in November 2002 in accordance with the intention of Mr. Run Run Shaw. The Prize was awarded for the first time in 2004, which aims to recognize scientists who have made breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or applications that have had a profound impact on the lives of mankind. The Shaw Prize consists of three prizes in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences, awarded annually without regard to race, nationality, gender, or religion, and each prize carries a monetary award of USD 1.2 million. This is the 20th year that the Shaw Prize has been presented.

    The "Shaw Prize 2023" exhibition is now  showing at the Planetarium of the Macao Science Center starting from November 13, 2023 to January 10, 2024. The exhibition mainly introduces the Prize in Astronomy, the Prize in Life Science & Medicine, and the Prize in Mathematical Sciences  of the Shaw Prize 2023.

    On the afternoon of November 18, the Center hosted the “Starry Night” Astronomy Science Activity, introducing the 2023 Shaw Prize in Astronomy of fast radio bursts. The President of the Macao Astronomical Society, Mr. Sirius Lei, was invited to the Planetarium to introduce to the visitors the definition and characteristics of fast radio bursts, as well as the contribution of the discovery of fast radio bursts by the three Shaw Prize Laureates to the scientific community. The three winners of 2023 Shaw Prize in Astronomy are Matthew Bailes, Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Gravitational Wave Discovery, Duncan Lorimer, Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Dean for Research in Eberly College of Arts and Sciences of West Virginia University, and Maura McLaughlin, Eberly Family Distinguished Chair Professor of Physics and Astronomy of West Virginia University, and the scientific research they have achieved were also introduced. Fast radio bursts are one of the most extreme and mysterious phenomena in astronomy. These intense radio bursts can release as much energy in a few thousandths of a second as several days of radiation from the sun.

    Macao Science Center is open between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday regardless of public holidays, and is closed on Thursdays and Lunar New Year's Eve (except for August 2023). Please check the latest announcements on Macao Science Center's official website (www.msc.org.mo) and social media accounts for more event information and news.

Representatives of Macao Science Center attended the Shaw Prize Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong in 2023

The 2023 Shaw Prize in Astronomy is now being displayed on the LED screen at the Planetarium of the Macao Science Center.

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Macao Science Center Limited                                                                       51-PR-PUB-23

November 21, 2023