2026 World Laureates Foundation Prize Unveiled in Shanghai

11 WLF Prize laureates; the first time scientists of Chinese descent have been awarded; inaugural WLF Prize for Young Scientists launched.

SHANGHAI, Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Yicai Global:

On the morning of September 10, the winners of the 2026 World Laureates Foundation Prize (WLF Prize) were officially announced at the Lingang Center in Shanghai. It is the fifth year of the prize since its establishment in 2021, with 11 scientists honored this year. Notably, the WLF Prize for Young Scientists was awarded for the first time, further highlighting outstanding young scientists from around the world. The award ceremony will be held during the World Laureates Forum from October 30 to November 1.

The 2026 WLF Prize is initiated and organized by the World Laureates Foundation (WLF), with prize funding donated exclusively by HongShan and support from the Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation and Development Foundation.

WU Xiaohua, Chairman of WLF, said in his opening remarks at the press conference that both the number and the quality of nominations for the 2026 WLF Prize reached a multi-year high. Nominees came from leading universities and research institutions in many different countries and regions, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, a testament to the global representation and academic rigor of this year's nominations. The WLF Prize, he added, has grown into an international science award with broad influence among the world's top scientists.

I. Honors Unveiled: Three Prizes Recognize Landmark Scientific Breakthroughs

At the press conference, the winners of three categories of the 2026 WLF Prize were announced: one laureate of the WLF Prize in Computer Science or Mathematics (CSM), four laureates of the WLF Prize in Life Science or Medicine (LSM), and six laureates of the inaugural WLF Prize for Young Scientists. Another 10 young researchers were named the WLF Prize for Young Scientist Finalists.

2026 WLF Prize Laureate in Computer Science or Mathematics: Ingrid DAUBECHIES, Duke University. HUA Xiansheng, Executive Director of the Institute of AI for Engineering at Tongji University, announced the laureate and the citation, recognizing her "major contributions in applied harmonic analysis, wavelet theory, and image compression, and her leadership in the international mathematics community." Michael I. JORDAN, Chair of the WLF Prize Selection Committee in Computer Science or Mathematics, offered an interpretation authoritative assessment of the winner's work prize-winning work via video. Prof. DAUBECHIES has been responsible for some of the most profound developments in Wavelet theory, most notably the compactly supported continuous wavelet, which gave rigorous mathematical meaning to the notion of locality. Prof. DAUBECHIES will receive a prize of RMB 10 million.

2026 WLF Prize Laureates in Life Science or Medicine: YUAN Junying, Interdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China; WANG Xiaodong, National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS), Beijing, China; SHAO Feng, National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS), Beijing, China; and Vishva DIXIT, Genentech Inc., USA.

SUN Yongkui, Director of Shanghai Innovative Drug R&D Center, announced the laureates and the citation, honoring them for "elucidating the molecular pathways of distinct forms of programmed cell death, and analyzing the mechanisms through which those pathways govern diverse physiological functions and disease pathogenesis." Randy SCHEKMAN, Chair of the WLF Prize Selection Committee in Life Science or Medicine, offered an authoritative assessment of the winners' work via video. The four pioneering scientists were recognized for discoveries that transformed programmed cell death from a set of observed biological phenomena into precisely defined molecular pathways. These four laureates will share a prize of RMB 10 million.

Inaugural WLF Prize for Young Scientists: awarded to six young scientists. PENG Huisheng, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Vice Chairman of the World Laureates Foundation, announced the winners with their citations. Raphaële Juliette CLÉMENT, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, is awarded "for being a leading young researcher in future energy materials, with significant discoveries in solid-state systems for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. She is a core driving force in the R&D of next-generation battery technologies." CHEN Peining, Fudan University, is awarded "for breaking through the classical structural paradigm of electronic devices, making major contributions in the field of novel flexible electronic materials and devices, and expected to drive transformative development in human-computer interaction technology and industry." DING Shiqian, Tsinghua University, is awarded "for being a precision explorer of fundamental physics, achieving pioneering experimental results in continuous‑wave vacuum ultraviolet lasers, the thorium‑229 nuclear clock, and nuclear quantum precision measurements." WU Jiajun, Stanford University, is awarded "for pioneering foundational architectures for the era of embodied intelligence. He develops physically grounded world models that bridge artificial intelligence and the real physical world, with profound implications for the future of robotics, AI4S, and beyond." XIE Weidi, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, is awarded "for establishing a highly impactful model of AI4S, achieving major breakthroughs in AI-enabled reasoning, diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases, and translating these advances into tangible real-world impact on healthcare." ZHUANG Ziquan, Johns Hopkins University, is awarded "for being a leading figure of the new generation of international mathematicians, and for his fundamental contributions to K-stability and high-dimensional birational geometry." Each of the six laureates will receive RMB 1 million.

Additionally, 10 young researchers were honored as Finalists for the 2026 WLF Prize for Young Scientists: AI Qingyao, Tsinghua University; Cesar DE LA FUENTE, University of Pennsylvania; LI Tingxin, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; LINGHU Changyang, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; LIN Song, Stanford University; PENG Bo, Fudan University; TIAN He, Tsinghua University; WANG Ye, University of Science and Technology of China; WU Qingqing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; and ZHU Keren, Fudan University.

II. Five Years On: Four Milestones That Define the Prize

This year marks the fifth year of the prize. Four distinctive features set the 2026 edition apart: for the first time, scientists of Chinese descent have won in the prize's history; the WLF Prize for Young Scientists is newly established and open to researchers worldwide; both the diversity of the nominees and the innovation of the award mechanism have reached unprecedented levels.

Through five years of efforts, the WLF Prize has become a new benchmark for international awards. The prize was established in Shanghai in 2021. It has recognized 12 scientists in the past four years. With five laureates in the two senior categories and six in the inaugural young scientist category this year, a total of 23 scientists have now received the WLF Prize—a mark of its rising international standing.

The inaugural WLF Prize for Young Scientists embodies the notion that "The future of science lies in the youth." The new category underscores WLF Prize's care and support for young researchers. It also aligns with Shanghai's drive to build a youth-development-oriented city, which offers a more favorable environment for young people to unleash their potential, and echoes Lingang's vibrant practice of developing a sci-tech innovation city and fostering "a young city, and a city for the young."

Scientists of Chinese descent win for the first time, taking a historically high proportion. Three of the four laureates in Life Science or Medicine and five of the six laureates of the inaugural WLF Prize for Young Scientists are of Chinese descent. Meanwhile, among all the scientists nominated for the 2026 WLF Prize, those of Chinese descent accounted for more than half, demonstrating their growing engagement and influence in the world's frontier research fields.

With their eyes on the stars and feet firmly on the ground, global intellect and industrial forces join hands to stride toward the future. Alongside its focus on breakthroughs in frontier basic science, the WLF Prize actively engaged candidates representing emerging industries and future industries, with special attention to disruptive technological change and the commercialization of innovations. From the mechanisms of cell death to next-generation therapies, and from wavelet theory to modern imaging and data technologies, the recognized work continues to supply original innovation to fields including biomedicine and artificial intelligence.

III. Next Stop, Lingang — The 2026 World Laureates Forum to Kick Off in October

The laureates met with the press via video link during the press conference, reflecting on their research careers and looking ahead to what lies ahead.

The WLF Prize recognizes researchers and technology pioneers who have never received a top award such as the Nobel Prize, the Turing Award, the Wolf Prize, the Abel Prize, the Lasker Award, the Canada Gairdner International Award, or the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. The WLF Prize for Young Scientists, launched this year, aims to identify and recognize outstanding and promising young scientists worldwide. It focuses on basic science and interdisciplinary frontier research, and closely follows emerging trends in the formation of new quality productive forces and future technological innovation. Each medal carries not merely honor, but also expectations for the continuous advancement of scientific exploration. The WLF Prize for Young Scientists recognizes the potential of today and looks forward to future growth. Today's young laureates may well become world-leading scientists who drive major scientific breakthroughs and claim the WLF Prize tomorrow.

The WLF Prize's forward-looking vision in identifying original achievements has won repeated recognition from the global scientific community. Dirk GÖRLICH, a 2022 WLF Prize laureate, received the 2025 Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, which is widely regarded as a bellwether for the Nobel Prize. Michael I. JORDAN, also a 2022 WLF Prize laureate, was honored with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award. Yurii NESTEROV, a 2023 WLF Prize laureate, was awarded the Gauss Prize by the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2026, which is the highest distinction in applied mathematics.

The 2026 WLF Prize award ceremony will be held alongside the opening of the World Laureates Forum, from October 30 to November 1, at the Lingang Center in Shanghai. The laureates will attend the ceremony and Forum sessions, joining discussions under the theme "New Science Paradigm: Break Through for the Next Decade."

The event was attended by representatives of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, HongShan, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, East China Normal University, Shanghai University, Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation and Development Foundation, and the World Laureates Foundation, along with reporters from more than 20 media outlets.

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SOURCE Yicai Global