JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA, January 5, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A Moroccan, an Emirati, a South Korean, two Britons and three Americans have won the King Faisal Prize for the year 1444 AH - 2023 AD. An announcement was made during a ceremony held Wednesday evening in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Province, and Chairman of the King Faisal Prize Boar.

Secretary General of the King Faisal Prize Dr. Abdulaziz Alsebail stated that the selection committees for the King Faisal Prize, with its five categories; “Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science,” held a series of sessions to review the nominated works and the reports of the arbitrators.

The selection committees of the 2023 King Faisal Prize, after meticulous deliberations that were held from Monday 2ed to Wednesday 4th of January 2023, have reached the following decisions:
First: King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam for this year 2023 is awarded jointly to: Professor Choi Young Kil-Hamed (South Korea) & His Excellency Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah
(UAE).

Professor Choi Young Kil-Hamed is awarded the prize in recognition of his outstanding work in Service to Islam, which included:
- His translation of a large number of Islamic bookswhich contributed to the dissemination of knowledge about the critical aspects of Islamic culture amid Far Eastern societies, specifically among Korean-speaking peoples.
- His advocacy efforts deployed in giving lessons and lectures and organizing courses to introduce and advocate for Islam.
- He is regarded as one of the prominent non-Arabic-speaking advocacy figures in the Asian continent and serves as a member of a number of Islamic associations.
- His endeavors in chairing a number of institutions, organizations, and federations, and his membership in a number of councils concerned with Muslim affairs.
His Excellency Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah Al Zaabi is awarded the prize in recognition of his outstanding work in Service to Islam, which included:
- His efforts in philanthropic and relief work through his membership in a number of charitable associations and institutions and his organization and attendance of conferences, forums and seminars on charitable work. The outcome of these endeavors contributed to the creation of a number of Islamic centers, schools, training centers, hospitals, and dispensaries, in addition to providing care to thousands of orphans, digging hundreds of artesian wells, building a number of dams, launching agricultural projects, and supporting many vulnerable communities in Africa.
- His presidency of the Permanent Council of the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF), a subsidiary institution of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
- His wise leadership of the Islamic University in Niger through his chairmanship of its Board of Trustees since 2014 and his personal involvement in the university’s activities.
- His membership in the Board of Directors of the Islamic University in Uganda, and his tremendous efforts in supporting the university, which has achieved a strong educational standing in East Africa.
- He was awarded a number of medals and decorations in appreciation of his efforts in the field of philanthropic work.

Second: King Faisal Prize for Islamic Studies for this year 2023, (Islamic Architecture), is awarded to:
Professor Robert Hillenbrand
(United Kingdom)
Professor at The University of Edinburgh

His work is distinguished by its geographic and temporal expansiveness, which covered North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Central Asia, and spanned from the early Islamic period till the 19th Century.
His use of a distinct methodology for the study of Islamic Architecture classified by form, function, and meaning.

His scholarly publications are distinguished by rigor, analysis, and comparison, which makes them a major contribution and a key reference in the field of Islamic architecture.

Third: King Faisal Prize for Arabic Language and Literature for this year 2023, Topic: (Classical Arabic Narrative and Modern Theories) is awarded to: Professor Abdelfattah Kilito (Morocco) Professor at Mohammed V University.

He creatively and extensively elucidated different genres in Classical Arabic Narrative.
He embodied modern critical approaches within his vision, in a novel and creative method, exploring areas in the Classical Arab Narrative that evaded many before. His distinctive ability presents the Arabic narrative to the general reader in a clear and precise manner.

Fourth: King Faisal Prize for Medicine for this year 2023, (Pandemics and Vaccine Development), is awarded jointly to: Professor Dan Hung Barouch (United States of America) Professor at Harvard University
Professor Dan Hung Barouch is awarded the prize in recognition of his major contribution to our understanding of the immunology and pathogenesis of viral infections. He has developed novel vaccine and treatment strategies against multiple pathogens of global significance, including HIV-1, Zika virus, tuberculosis, and most recently SARS-CoV-2.

Professor Sarah Catherine Gilbert
(United Kingdom)

Professor at University of Oxford Professor Sarah Catherine Gilbert is awarded the prize for developing innovative vaccine technologies and applying them to malaria, Ebola, influenza, MERS and lately SARS-CoV2. This latter vaccine has achieved a wide geographical distribution due to its effectiveness and low cost, making it accessible to billions of people. It has greatly participated to vaccine equity worldwide.

Fifth: King Faisal Prize for Science for this year 2023 (Chemistry), is awarded jointly to:
Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying
(United States of America)
Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)&
Professor Chad Alexander Mirkin
(United States of America)
Professor at Northwestern University

Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying is awarded the prize for the synthesis of various advanced nanomaterials and systems, and their applications in catalysis, energy conversion, and biomedicine. Namely, Ying’s laboratory has pioneered the synthesis of mesoporous and microporous transition metal oxides by supramolecular templating. Her work is at the intersection of nanotechnology and technical medicine and has culminated in the establishment of six successful start-ups and spinoff companies.

Professor Chad Alexander Mirkin is awarded the prize for his outstanding contribution in introducing the concept of nanoparticles as atoms and DNA as bonds to design functional crystalline macroscopic materials, and enriching the repertoire of chemistry and material tools, and defining the modern age of nanotechnology.

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