The third Future Science Prize winners were announced in Beijing on September 8th. Xiaoming Feng, a professor of SCU College of Chemistry and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared with two other scientists a Future Science Prize in the category of Physical Science for creative contributions to the invention of new catalysts and reactions, which have provided a new approach to the synthesis of organic molecules, especially drug molecules. The award ceremony is to be held on November 18.
Being labeled China’s Nobel Prize, the Future Science Prize was established for three awards in Life Science, Physical Science, and Mathematics and Computer Science in 2016. And each individual award is $1,000,000 in prize money. Focusing on original research in basic science, the Future Science Prizerewards outstanding original research that was finished in China and has global impact. It is not limited to Chinese citizens and is privately funded by 12 eminent Chinese entrepreneurs who want more public involvement in the country’s development of science. The award candidates are nominated in designated categories and evaluated by a panel of judges who are outstanding scientists. The judges abide by the principals of impartiality, justice, and credibility.
Based on rational molecular design and innovational thought, Dawei Ma, Xiaoming Feng and Qilin Zhou respectively developed various catalysts, which greatly promoted or changed the development of several kinds of important organic chemical reactions. Xiaoming Feng and his team are dedicated to thedesignation of new chiral ligand and organocatalyst, metal-mediated catalysis, organocatalysis, and total synthesis of pharmaceuticals. He has achieved a variety of chiral Lewis acid catalyzed carbon-carbon bonding new reaction. Being an effective method for active chiral compound synthesis, this new approach has been widely recognized and applied in the international academic circle and industry.
