(Hong Kong, December 15, 2016) The Hang Lung Mathematics Awards (HLMA) today announced the 2016 winners. The Gold Award winner went to Bishop Hall Jubilee School for the research paper titled, “On the Summation of Fractional Parts and its Application”. The winning student Sun Kai Leung from the school received his Gold Award, joined by the recipients of the Silver, Bronze Awards and five honorable mentions. A total of HK$1 million of scholarship was presented for the winners to further their education.
This year, about 240 students from 60 secondary schools formed nearly 80 teams to take part in the competition. Under the guidance of their teachers and with full support from their schools, the students have spent more than six months in researching different mathematics topics.
Today’s award presentation ceremony, held at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and attended by all finalist teams, was officiated by Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, GBM, GBS, JP, Chief Secretary for Administration, Government of the HKSAR; Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Properties; Professor Shing-Tung Yau, Chairman of the 2016 HLMA Scientific Committee, 1982 Fields Medalist, the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University and the Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK); and Professor Sir James A. Mirrlees, Chairman of the 2016 HLMA Steering Committee, 1996 Nobel Laureate in Economics and Master of Morningside College at CUHK.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, co-founder of the HLMA, said, “Hang Lung believes that education is a critical element for the establishment of a prosperous and sustainable society. For the past 12 years, Hang Lung has been a long-term partner with CUHK in organizing the biennial HLMA. I am happy that we can encourage the younger generation to further themselves in mathematical research and contribute more to society and the world.”
Another HLMA co-founder, Professor Shing-Tung Yau, said, “Since HLMA was first launch in 2004, we have seen a burgeoning of talent in the young minds of the participants. We were encouraged to see a number of research topics based on renowned mathematics theories among this year’s final 12 teams. We are proud to provide an outlet for such creative and visionary aspirations.”
Founded in 2004, the biennial HLMA, co-organized by Hang Lung Properties, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and the Department of Mathematics of CUHK, has helped nearly 2,000 secondary students to realize their potential in the creative exploration of mathematics and sciences, awarding HK$7 million in scholarships. Hang Lung has also provided sponsorship to support the educational resources, guidance and mentoring, assessment process, and the administration of each competition.
Each participating research project was carefully assessed by the Scientific Committee using a multi-step process similar to that undertaken for publication by a scientific journal. Teams with a mathematics research project that showed the highest potential were shortlisted to participate in an oral defense, hosted by the Scientific Committee to select the winners. This year’s oral defense was held yesterday (December 14) at the headquarters of Hang Lung at the Standard Chartered Bank Building in Central.
To further raise public interest in mathematics, Hang Lung also launched an award-winning Facebook fan page “HLMA – To Infinity” in February this year, featuring about 100 interesting and interactive feeds and games which have successfully attracted over 10,500 fans to-date.
For more information about HLMA, please visit its website (https://hlma.math.cuhk.edu.hk) or Facebook fan page (https://www.facebook.com/hkhlma).
