Croucher scholar receives Xplorer Prize 2024
A Hong Kong-based scientist has been awarded the 2024 Xplorer Prize, which recognises outstanding young scientists under 45 who demonstrate exceptional quality and innovation in their fields of research.
Dr Yi Yang is the Belinda Hung Outstanding Young Professor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong. Earlier this year, he was recently awarded a Croucher Tak Wah Mak Innovation Award for his work on nonrelativistic free electron-light interaction with nanophotonics.
Yang first studied at Peking University before doing his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the University of Hong Kong as an assistant professor in 2022.
The Xplorer Prize is a prestigious non-governmental award funded by the New Cornerstone Science Foundation established by Tencent. It is one of the most generous talent funding programmes for young scientists in China, with each winner receiving a total of RMB 3 million over the next five years. It recognises no more than 50 outstanding scientists per year, and Yang is the sole recipient of the award from Hong Kong in 2024.