Tag Archives: Kavli Nano-energy Organization

2015 Mustafa prize winners (two nanoscientists) announced

The $500,000US Mustafa Prize was started in 2013 according to the information on prize website’s homepage,

The Mustafa Prize is a top science and technology award granted to the top researchers and scientists of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states biennially.

The Prize seeks to encourage education and research and is set to play the pioneering role in developing relations between science and technology institutions working in the OIC member countries.

It also aims to improve scientific relation between academics and researchers to facilitate the growth and perfection of science in the OIC member states.

The laureates in each section will be awarded 500,000 USD which is financed through the endowments made to the Prize. The winners will also be adorned with a special medal and certificate.

The Mustafa Prize started its job in 2013. The Policy making Council of the Prize which is tasked with supervising various procedures of the event is comprised of high-profile universities and academic centers of OIC member states.

The prize will be granted to the works which have improved the human life and have made tangible and cutting-edge innovations on the boundaries of science or have presented new scientific methodology.

The 2015 winners were announced in a Dec. 23, 2015 news item on merhnews.com,

Dr. Hossein Zohour, Chairman of the science committee of Mustafa Scientific Prize, has announced the laureates on Wednesday [Dec. 16, 2015].

According to the Public Relations Department of Mustafa (PBUH) Prize, Professor Jackie Y. Ying from Singapore and Professor Omar Yaghi from Jordan won the top science and technology award of the Islamic world.

Zohour cited that the Mustafa (PBUH) Prize is awarded in four categories including, Life Sciences and Medicine, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Information and Communication Technologies and Top Scientific Achievement in general fields. “In the first three categories, the nominees must be citizens of one of the 57 Islamic countries while in the fourth category the nominee must be Muslim but being citizen of an Islamic country is not mandatory,” he added.

Professor Jackie Y. Ying, CEO and faculty member of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology of Singapore and Professor Omar Yaghi, president of Kavli Nano-energy Organization and faculty member of University of California, Berkeley are the laureates in the fields of Nano-biotechnology sciences and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology respectively.

Zohour continued, “Professor Ying is awarded in recognition of her efforts in development of ‘stimulus response systems in targeted delivery of drugs’ in the field of Nano-biotechnology.”

These systems are consisted of polymeric nanoparticles, which auto-regulate the release of insulin therapeutic depending on the blood glucose levels without the need for sampling. The technology was first developed in her knowledge-based company and now being commercialized in big pharmaceutical firms to be at the service of human health.

Professor Omar Yaghi, prominent Jordanian chemist, has also been selected for his extensive research in the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the category of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

It’s worth noting that this [sic] MOFs have a wide range of applications in clean energy technologies, carbon dioxide capturing and hydrogen and methane storage systems due to their extremely high surface areas.

The Mustafa (PBUH) Prize Award Ceremony will take place on Friday December 25 [2015] at Vahdat Hall to honor the laureates.

Unfortunately, I’ve not profiled Dr. Yaghi’s work here. Dr. Ying has been mentioned a few times (a March 2, 2015 posting, a May 12, 2014 posting, and an Aug. 22, 2013 posting) but not for the work for which she is being honoured.

Congratulations to both Dr. Yaghi and Dr. Ying!