The eighth annual Science Exploration Award list has been officially unveiled, with 50 young scientists earning recognition. This year's cohort marks several historic firsts: the emergence of the award's first recipient born after 1995, female honorees reaching double digits for the first time, and seven institutions celebrating their inaugural winners.

As one of the highest-value youth science and technology funding initiatives in China, the Science Exploration Award focuses on foundational science and cutting-edge technology fields. Each laureate will receive a total of 3 million RMB over five years, with complete freedom in how the funds are utilized. Supporting basic research represents a key component of Tencent's sustainable social value innovation strategy.

Established in 2018, the award was co-founded by 14 prominent scientists, including Chen-Ning Yang, Rao Yi, Pan Jianwei, Gao Wen, Shi Yigong, and Xie Xiaoliang, alongside Tencent founder Pony Ma. It is operated by the New Cornerstone Science Foundation, which was established with a 10 billion RMB investment from Tencent. Over the past eight years, 397 young scientists have received support through this program.

A standout name on this year's list is mathematician Joshua Zahl. Together with Wang Hong, he proved the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, a landmark achievement that positioned Wang Hong to receive the 2026 Fields Medal. Zahl, a Canadian mathematician, has been teaching full-time at Nankai University's Chern Institute of Mathematics since 2025.

"Top-tier scientists are willing to come to China because there is a strong community of highly skilled domestic researchers they can collaborate with, and because society as a whole is increasing its investment in science and technology," said Pan Jianwei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chair of the Science Exploration Award management committee.

This year's list includes 10 young scientists (males aged 35 and under, females aged 38 and under), with the award's first post-1995 recipient emerging from the interdisciplinary frontier field. Zhou Tiankuang from Beijing Institute of Technology, at just 30 years old, achieved this milestone.

"The trend toward interdisciplinary research is generating new directions for exploration, which creates fresh opportunities for young people to grow rapidly," noted Gao Wen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and co-chair of the award's management committee.

Since last year, the Science Exploration Award has designated one "Rising Star slot" within each funding area, reserved for young scientists under the principle of maintaining high standards rather than filling quotas. This year, applicants under 35 represent 22% of the total, up from 21% last year, compared to just 11% in 2024 before the Rising Star initiative was introduced.

The number of female honorees has also reached a new high, with 10 women scientists on the list (including 3 young scientists), marking the first time in eight editions that female recipients have hit double digits.

"Twenty percent is significant progress, but there's still room to grow. For instance, engineering and technology were traditionally male-dominated fields with very few women at the university level. Now, women often make up nearly half of the students, so the proportion of female scientists receiving awards will continue to rise," Gao Wen added.

Additionally, the 50 winners represent 30 universities, hospitals, and research institutions across 13 cities. This year, two cities—Zhengzhou in Henan and Tai'an in Shandong—along with seven institutions including Peking University Cancer Hospital, Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ShanghaiTech University, Shandong Agricultural University, Southwest Petroleum University, and Zhengzhou University, have produced their first-ever award recipients.

"As the Science Exploration Award marks its eighth year, I'm pleased to see it has consistently championed original innovation and earned widespread recognition and support from the scientific community," said Pony Ma, chairman and CEO of Tencent. "Supporting fundamental research is a long-term commitment Tencent steadfastly upholds. We will continue to empower young scientists to explore the frontiers of science and push the boundaries of the unknown, looking forward to more original breakthroughs that contribute to national technological advancement and the betterment of human welfare."