Tan Kah Kee Award

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Tan Kah Kee

Tan Kah Kee Award (陈嘉庚科学奖), dubbed the Chinese Nobel Prize, was named after Tan Kah Kee (1874-1961), a well-known Philanthropist and outstanding overseas Chinese leader in Southeast Asia who contributed remarkably to the development of science and education in China. The Tan Kah Kee Award was first set up by Tan’s relatives, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences was entrusted for its organization and evaluation.

The Tan Kah Kee Award was issued eight times since its inauguration. Dozens of outstanding Chinese scientists received the honor, including winners of Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award Wu Wenjun, Wang Xuan, Huang Kun, Liu Dongsheng, Wu Mengchao and Ye Duzheng.

The objective of the award was to reward prominent Chinese scientists who had made outstanding achievements, so as to promote China’s science and technology development and to realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The award was presented in six categories: physics, life sciences, earth sciences, technological sciences, agricultural sciences and medical sciences.

The award was conferred once every two years and one prize was given in every category at each session, usually with one recipient, three at the maximum. Each prize had a premium of up to 30,000 yuan.

The award was first conferred on January 17, 1989 in Beijing.

The award was replaced by the Tan Kah Kee Science Award in 2003.