However, little is known about the process of how a Shaw Prize award category is designed, the preparations needed for its introduction, and the people responsible for formulating the rules, scope and criteria behind the nomination and winner selection processes.<\/p>\n
Dr Raymond Chan, chair and council member of the Shaw Prize Foundation, which manages and administers general proceedings, emphasised the evolving nature of scientific inquiry and the importance of keeping in step with current developments during the new award announcement in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission has always been to honour contributions that benefit humanity, and computer science is the foundation of today\u2019s world-changing technologies,\u201d Chan said, citing the artificial intelligence (AI) system AlphaFold\u2019s impact on life sciences as an example.<\/p>\n
Indeed, computer science now plays an essential part in almost every aspect of modern life, from healthcare and education to transport, communication and entertainment. It has brought untold transformation in recent decades and further innovation in algorithms, machine learning, cybersecurity and computational theory will continue to redefine the way humans interact and society functions.<\/p>\n
The Shaw Prize in Computer Science planning committee, which was formed to shape and define the award, began discussions on the scope and structure of the category in November 2024. Members, who included international experts, had to create the necessary framework, adjudication guidelines and selection process.<\/p>\n
![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/10\/20\/39fd7e47-d54b-4966-86ad-6ad2275d187d_a66cec46.jpg\" "\\"Professor")
<\/div>Professor Tony Chan, former president of both the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, was chair of the planning committee and welcomed the wide-ranging, in-depth nature of the series of online meetings that took place over the subsequent 18 months or so.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they asked me to be chair, I was very flattered,\u201d he says. \u201cMy immediate reaction was that introducing a computer science category was timely and the right thing to do. It would also help to make the Shaw Prize and what it stands for even better known internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the first topics to consider were how broad or narrow the parameters should be and how people in the field would react if they were already familiar with the history of the Turing Award \u2013 named after British mathematician Alan Turing, which recognises important contributions to computer science \u2013 often referred to as the \u201cNobel Prize in computing\u201d.<\/p>\n
When choosing the planning committee members, a key objective was to have a diversity of scientific opinion, invite people from both academia and industry, set the highest standards and establish something distinct.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost everybody I called said \u2018yes\u2019, and that gave me a big boost in confidence,\u201d Tony Chan says. \u201cWe had an agenda for each meeting, considered pros and cons, went into a lot of detail such as whether someone could win more than once, but also wanted to leave some room for the separate selection committee which would be convened later with some different members.\u201d<\/p>\n
The basic guideline given for assessing nominees is to be open, inclusive and international in outlook, with the quality of research and accomplishments as the main criteria.<\/p>\n
![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/10\/20\/5b4bb547-61cd-4e9a-8961-f8af6bf0340a_b04f96cb.jpg\" "\\"Professor")
<\/div>For John Hennessy, the James F. and Mary Lynn Gibbons Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University in the United States, and a member of the Shaw Prize in Computer Science planning and selection committees, the essential thing for the planning committee was to have a robust group that was well-rounded and representative.<\/p>\n
Hennessy, who also served as president of Stanford from 2000 to 2016 and received the Turing Award in 2017, says he believed in the importance of additional recognition for pioneers in computer science, given how rapidly and dramatically the field has expanded in less than a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody on the committee wanted to ensure the prize would recognise new contributions, people doing work that is going to shape the next 10 years,\u201d says Hennessy, whose career specialisation in computer architecture can be traced back to a secondary school science project building a machine to play noughts and crosses.<\/p>\n
With the call for nominations now going out, Hennessy expects to see names put forward from industry and academia, including relatively young entrepreneurs and postdoctoral researchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to emphasise excellence,\u201d he says. \u201cThe AI revolution and the breadth of its impact are going to change virtually every area of science and social science. There are lots of brilliant young people contributing to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a fellow member of both the planning and selection committees, Professor Jeannette Wing, executive vice-president for research and professor of computer science at Columbia University in the US and former corporate vice-president of Microsoft Research, is known for her work on the subject of trustworthy computing.<\/p>\n
In essence, it is about ensuring the systems we use, including the hardware, software, various combinations and the people involved, will do no harm.<\/p>\n
![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/10\/20\/18026460-c4d7-4243-a9dd-aa3e30f465fd_ea94c24a.jpg\" "\\"Professor")
<\/div>Regarding the Shaw Prize, she recalls early deliberations about whether the focus should be more on fundamental scientific research or the impact specific applications might have. The final decision was to make the category as accommodating as possible.<\/p>\n
Wing says the decision to stay on as a member of the selection committee will help ensure the guidelines designed by her and other members of the planning committee are followed when they review the nominations and choose the inaugural winners.<\/p>\n
\u201cMembers of the planning and selection committee want the Shaw Prize in Computer Science to have the same prestige as the Turing Award,\u201d Wing says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to recognise the contributions of computer scientists. The new Shaw Prize category will allow more such deserving candidates to receive that recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is now looking forward to working alongside Professor Jennifer Tour Chayes, dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at the University of California, Berkeley \u2013 and chair of the selection committee \u2013 as the next phase moves ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the committee members are experts in their field and will be looking for nominees whose work is novel, representing a significant breakthrough, not something that is purely incremental, such as writing a software program that is 10 per cent better than the last one,\u201d Tony Chan says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, when the first Shaw Prize laureate in computer science is announced, we want people to say that was a great choice.\u201d<\/p>\n