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The Chen Jiageng Science Award is named after the renowned overseas Chinese leader, Mr. Chen Jiageng. Its predecessor was the Chen Jiageng Prize, established in 1988. In 2003, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Bank of China jointly established the Chen Jiageng Science Prize Foundation, which includes the Chen Jiageng Science Prize, aimed at rewarding significant original scientific and technological achievements made in China recently. The Chen Jiageng Youth Science Prize, established in 2010, aims to reward young scientists under the age of 40 who have independently made significant original scientific and technological achievements in China.

Both the Chen Jiageng Science Prize and the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Prize are recommended and reviewed by the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They each have six awards:

• Mathematical and Physical Sciences,
• Chemical Sciences,
• Life Sciences,
• Earth Sciences,
• Information Technology Sciences, and
• Technological Sciences.

Awards are given biennially, with recommendations and reviews in odd-numbered years and awards presented at the General Assembly of Academicians in even-numbered years. Each Chen Jiageng Science Prize award selects one winning project per category, with a prize of one million RMB (~120,000 €) and a gold medal. Each Chen Jiageng Youth Science Prize award selects two winners per category, with each winner receiving a prize of 200,000 RMB (~25,000 €) and a silver medal.

To date, the Chen Jiageng Science Prize Foundation has selected 128 scientists for the Science Prize and 54 recipients of the Youth Prize.

In 2025, the Chen Jiageng Science Prize Foundation organized exchange meetings in more than ten cities with a high concentration of universities and research institutions. These meetings systematically introduced the prize’s positioning, review criteria, and nomination process, helping researchers gain a deeper understanding of the Chen Jiageng Science Prize and the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Prize, effectively enhancing the scientific community’s awareness and willingness to participate. Simultaneously, the Foundation broadened the scope of nominating experts, attracting more high-level experts to participate in the nomination process. These measures yielded significant results, with a substantial increase in the number of nominations for the 2026 Chen Prize, and a corresponding improvement in the quality of nominations. Ultimately, all six award categories and 12 recipients were selected.

List of 2026 Chen Jiageng Science Prize Winners

1. The Chen Jiageng Mathematical and Physical Sciences Prize-winning project is “Discovery of Chemical Imprints of the First Generation of Supermassive Stars in the Universe and Remnants of Early Mergers in the Milky Way.” The principal investigator of this project is Researcher Zhao Gang from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
2. The Chen Jiageng Chemistry Science Award was awarded for the project “Single-Atom Catalysis,” with Professor Zhang Tao of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as the principal investigator.
3. The Chen Jiageng Life Science Award was awarded for the project “Whole-Genome Design Breeding of Hybrid Potatoes,” with Professor Huang Sanwen of the Shenzhen Institute of Agricultural Genomics, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, as the principal investigator.
4. The Chen Jiageng Earth Science Award was awarded for the project “Evolution and Geological Background of the Jehol Biota,” with Professor Zhou Zhonghe of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as the principal investigator.
5. The Chen Jiageng Information Technology Science Award was awarded for the project “V-Defect Three-Dimensional PN Junctions and Their Applications,” with Professor Jiang Fengyi, Researcher Zhang Jianli, and Researcher Wu Xiaoming of Nanchang University as the principal investigators.
6. The Chen Jiageng Technological Science Award was awarded for the project “Principles, Technology, and Applications of Lightweight and Heat-Resistant TiAl Single Crystals for Aerospace Power,” with Professor Chen Guang, Professor Qi Zhixiang, and Professor Chen Yang of Nanjing University of Science and Technology as the principal investigators.

List of Recipients of the 2026 Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award

1. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Professor Du Lingjie of Nanjing University, for his original achievement “First Observation of Graviton Modes in Fractional Quantum Hall Effect”; Professor Wang Guozhen of Fudan University, for his original achievement “Calculation of Spherical Stable Homotope Groups and Classification of Differential Structures”.
2. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Chemistry: Professor Liu Zhibo of Peking University, for his original achievement “Radioactive-Driven Medicinal Chemistry”; Professor Huang Xiaoqiang of Nanjing University, for his original achievement “Creation of a Novel Thiamine-Dependent Photoenzyme Catalytic System”.
3. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Life Sciences: Researcher Li Hanjie of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his original achievement “Discovery and Identification of Novel Immune Cells (Peripheral Tissue “Microglial Cell Lineage”)”; Researcher Liu Xing of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his original achievement “Revealing Novel Key Mechanisms of Host Anti-Infection Immune Response and Developing Targeted Molecules for the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases”.
4. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Earth Sciences: Researcher Cai Shuhui from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for her original work on “Evolution and Dynamic Mechanism of Lunar Magnetic Field”; and Professor Ge Rongfeng from Nanjing University, for his original work on “Origin and Tectonic Evolution of Early Continents on Earth”.
5. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Information Technology Sciences: Professor Wang Jianwei from Peking University, for his original work on “Integrated Optical Quantum Information Chips”; and Professor Wang Zhen from Northwestern Polytechnical University, for his original work on “Game Theory and Application”.
6. Two recipients of the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award in Technological Sciences: Researcher Pan Qingsong from the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his original work on “Research on Strengthening and Toughening of Ordered Structure Metallic Materials”; and Professor Li Tiefeng from Zhejiang University, for his original work on “Soft Robot Adapted to the Pressure of the 10,000-Meter Deep Sea”.