VinFuture and the search for practical innovations for humanity

The evaluation of scientific works must not stop at achievements in the laboratory but must be based on the ability to create changes in life. This is also the key criterion for VinFuture to select the winning works this year.

Professor Richard Henry Friend, Chairman of the VinFuture Prize Council, shared about the groundbreaking works honored this year.

Professor Richard Henry Friend emphasized that the VinFuture Prize increasingly affirms its mission and vision of honoring projects that help improve the lives of billions of people (Photo: VinFuture).

Groundbreaking works that will improve the lives of billions of people The VinFuture Prize 2024 honors breakthrough achievements in the fields of deep learning (Artificial Intelligence), biotechnology, and advances in medical treatment. Can you share your thoughts on these winning works? - Every year, the VinFuture Prize brings interesting surprises, and this year, I was impressed by the Main Prize, which honored people who have made great contributions to the field of Artificial Intelligence. These are the mathematical and algorithmic foundations from scientists Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun; the pioneering datasets from Fei-Fei Li; and the hardware breakthroughs from Jensen Huang. The combination of these three factors has created the AI ​​revolution we are witnessing. With the Special Prizes, I was moved by the achievement of CAR-T therapy, a major step forward in cancer treatment. This is not only a scientific breakthrough, but also new hope for millions of patients. Meanwhile, Dr. Firdausi Qadri's work, which won the Special Prize for Scientists from Developing Countries, is a testament to the application of science to practice. She saved many lives in Rohingya refugee camps with a cholera vaccine. Professor Kristi Anseth, with her research on biological materials, has shown a journey from the laboratory to clinical application. What makes me most proud is that all of these works are aimed at a common goal: improving the lives of billions of people. That is the core value that VinFuture always strives for. How do you evaluate the scientists, experts, and outstanding minds behind these works? - Having had the opportunity to meet the award winners, I find it a great privilege. I realize that there is no one pattern or story that is the same - each person has their own unique characteristics. There are people who have seen things that others have never seen. There are people who possess extraordinary perseverance to pursue their research journey to the end. This is what we should honor. I believe that it is the diversity in the approach and thinking of scientists that has created the breakthroughs that we are witnessing. This is also what VinFuture always wants to encourage through the award.

VinFuture's recognition of Mr. Jensen Huang's contributions reflects the important reality of modern science, which is the combination of research and technology application (Photo: VinFuture).

Multidimensional assessment and early identification of works with global impact This year, the VinFuture Prize winners include not only research experts in the academic world, but also pioneering technologists from the business world such as the founder and CEO of Nvidia Corporation. Can you explain this decision ? - This decision reflects an important reality of modern science: breakthroughs often come from the combination of fundamental research and technology application. This is most clearly demonstrated through the AI ​​revolution. The success of AI today is the result of three inseparable factors as I mentioned above. None of these elements can create miracles alone. Breakthrough innovations often come from the intersection of academic research and industrial development. Only when scientists and businesses join hands can we create truly meaningful breakthroughs for humanity. What major challenges will these innovations solve for humanity? - This year's winners are addressing some of humanity's biggest challenges in very practical and effective ways. In the field of healthcare, we are witnessing a significant shift from treatment to prevention. Preventive medical interventions are not only cost-effective but also bring long-term benefits to public health. In cancer, we are witnessing a historic turning point. For decades, despite understanding the nature of cancer, we have not really found an effective way to treat it. CAR-T cell therapy has changed that, opening a new era in cancer treatment with promising results. In terms of Artificial Intelligence, this is perhaps the biggest surprise. After decades of being mentioned but not really breaking through, AI has made spectacular progress recently. From the discussions at the scientific conference, we realized that the achievements have been impressive, but this is only the beginning. Pioneering scientists in this field all modestly commented that there is still much to discover and develop.

Professor Geoffrey Hinton (University of Toronto, Canada), also the 2024 Nobel Prize Laureate, shares his honor at being honored at the VinFuture 2024 Main Prize (Photo: VinFuture).

What makes you feel satisfied about this year's VinFuture season? - This year, I am proud to share that VinFuture has once again demonstrated its ability to identify early works with global impact. Before the Nobel Prize was announced, we honored Professor Geoffrey Hinton - who later won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to AI. This is not the first time because two years ago, we also awarded the Prize for Scientists Researching Emerging Fields to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper from Google DeepMind for their work on protein structure modeling, who also became the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/vinfuture-va-cong-cuoc-tim-kiem-nhung-doi-moi-thiet-thuc-cho-nhan-loai-20241209104030044.htm