The Shaw Prize is an annual award first presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation in 2004. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong, it honours living "individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or who in other domains have achieved excellence. The award is dedicated to furthering societal progress, enhancing quality of life, and enriching humanity's spiritual civilization." The prize is widely regarded as the "Nobel of the East" which suggests that it is secondary to the Nobel prize in terms of reputation and recognition. It is named after Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫), who was a philanthropist and forerunner in the Hong Ko