BYLAWS OF FUTURE SCIENCE PRIZE
Chapter I General Principles
Article 1 Characters
The Future Science Prize is a set of awards bestowed by The Future Science Awards Foundation Limited. and Beijing Huairou Future Forum Technology Development Center (hereinafter referred to as Future Forum).
Article 2 Objective
In order to ensure objectiveness and fairness of the Future Science Prize, herein define the bylaws.
Article 3 Scope of Application
The bylaws shall apply to the awards in all categories of the Future Science Prize.
Article 4 Purpose
The purpose of the Future Science Prize is to reward the scientists who have made outstanding achievements in science and technology in the Mainland of China, Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan.
Article 5 Principles
The selection process of the Future Science Prize abides by the principles of fairness, impartiality, and trust, ensures an independent process, and rejects undue interference to the selection process by any organizations or individuals beyond the bylaws.
Article 6 Governing Bodies
To carry out the above principles and purposes, ensure impartial selection of laureates, and administer the Future Science Prize, the following bodies shall be established:
Donors Assembly of the Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as Donors Assembly), Science Committee of the Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as Science Committee), Executive Committee of the Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as Executive Committee), Oversight Committee of the Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as Oversight Committee), and Fundraising Committee of the Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as Fundraising Committee).
The Executive committee for the Future Science Prize shall be fully responsible for the management and guidance of the Future Science Prize. The Secretariat under its jurisdiction shall be in charge of the daily organizational work.
Chapter II Prize Categories and Criteria
Article 7 Categories
Future Science Prize is hereby established as three annual prizes, “Life Science Prize” , “Physical Science Prize,” and "Mathematics and Computer Science Prize"，the winners will be announced before the end of each year.
Article 8 Prize Scope
The Life Science Prize covers the basic and applied research related to life sciences;
The Physical Science Prize covers the basic and applied research related to the physical science;
The Mathematics and Computer Science Prize covers the basic and applied research related to the Mathematics and Computer Science.
Article 9 Criteria
The awarded research work:
- should have made significant global impact;
- should be original with long-term importance, or have passed the test of time; and
- should be completed mainly in the Mainland of China, Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan. There is no restriction on the nationalities of the nominees.
Article 10 Prize Level
“Life Science Prize” , “Physical Science Prize” and the “Mathematics and Computer Science Prize” shall each be an unrestricted cash reward of 1 million US dollars, respectively.
Article 11 Number of Prize Winners
The prizes may be awarded to an individual or a team who made most significant contributions to the awarded work, In principle, the total number people of a team shall not exceed five.
Chapter III Governing Bodies
Article 12 Donors Assembly
The Donors Assembly is the supreme authority of the Future Science Prize, which consists of all the donors to the Future Science Prize or their designated surrogates. The Donors Assembly meets at least once a year.
Article 13 Science Committee
The Science Committee is responsible for establishing and implementing the detailed rules for the Prize selection process, determining the scope and categories of the prizes. The list of members of the Science Committee shall be approved by the Donors Assembly.
The Oversight Committee has the authority to impeach the members of the Science Committee who have committed any violation of law or discipline related to integrity and morality. Dismissal of the impeached member shall be passed by affirmative votes of more than three fourths of the members of the Science Committee except the impeached member, and approved by the Donors Assembly.
If a member of the Science Committee does not act or there is any other case that is not suitable for continuing to serve as a member of the Science Committee, the vote shall be passed by more than two-thirds of all the members of the Science Committee, which does not include the member himself, to persuade the member to withdraw on his own and after examination and approval by the Donors Assembly he or she can be dismissed.
Article 14 Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of Future Science Prize shall consist of seven people, including three members of the Science Committee of Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as the Science Committee), three donor representatives, and chair of the Oversight Committee of Future Science Prize (hereinafter referred to as the Oversight Committee), elected by the Science Committee, all donors, and the Oversight Committee, respectively. The term of a Committee Member is one year. The member is eligible for re-election upon term expiration.
The Secretariat is responsible for the daily organizational work, assisting the Executive Committee to fulfill its responsibilities. A Secretary General shall be appointed to lead the Secretariat.
Article 15 Oversight Committee
The Oversight Committee is responsible for providing professional advice on legal and financial affairs during the establishment of the Prize’s bylaws, the oversight of all matters related to the selection process and financial management, and strengthening the credibility of the Prize among the public and donors.
Article 16 Fundraising Committee
The Fundraising Committee is responsible for raising and managing donations funds, the nomination or dismissal of its members shall be done by the Executive committee after approval by the Donors Assembly.
Chapter IV Qualification of Nominators and Candidates
Article 17 Production
Nomination to the Future Science Prize is by invitation only. Nominators shall be produced by the Science Committee. Each committee member recommends a number of nominators. Once confirmed by the Science Committee, the nominators shall be eligible for nomination.
The candidates for each Prize shall be nominated by nominators described above and regulated by Article 17. The Science Committee shall not accept applications or outside recommendations.
Article 18 Nomination
A nominator may submit a nomination once a year. The nomination of each nominator shall be carried out independently. A joint nomination shall not be permitted.
Article 19 Supplement or Revise the Nominations
The members of the Science Committee shall not be allowed to nominate candidates. However, the Science Committee shall have the authority to supplement or revise the nominations when discovering omissions or errors in the nomination during the selection process.
Chapter V Selection Process
Article 20 Selection Process
A short list of each Future Science Prize candidates shall be recommended by the subcommittee and approved by the full Science Committee. The Science Committee shall then request at least five international experts in the same field to write evaluation letters for each nominated work in the short list. Based on the evaluation letters, the Science Committee shall vote anonymously to produce the final Prize winners.
Article 21 Laureates
After the secret ballot, the Chair of the Science Committee will notify the Winners by telephone and a written notice to inform them of their award winning item, rights and obligations. The winners are required to reply in writing within the prescribed time. The winners can choose to accept or reject the award. If the winner rejects , this year's award vacancy.
To promote the spirit of science among the youth and the public, the laureates shall serve as Science Ambassador, attending academic seminars and the award ceremony of the Future Science Prizes, and giving at least two public lectures organized by the Secretariat.
The laureates shall adhere to academic ethics, uphold the spirit of science, abide by the principle of integrity in scientific research, and follow the purposes and principles of the Future Science Prize.
Article 22 Proactive Disclosure and Recusal
The members of the Science Committee shall sign a Letter of Commitment and Integrity. When first reviewing the list of candidates, the members of the Science Committee should disclose potential conflict of interest. The relationships with potential conflict of interest include teachers and students, relatives, friends, project partners (the end of the project is within five years), business partners, competitors, and other relationships that may affect the impartiality of the selection of laureates. The disclosure procedures shall be formulated by the Executive Committee, and their implementation shall be supervised by the Oversight Committee.
The members of the Science Committee are not eligible to be nominated for the Future Science Prizes during their tenure and two years after their tenure. For the members with potential conflict of interest, the Oversight Committee shall assess whether their conflict of interest would affect the impartiality of the selection of laureates and determine if the member shall be recused from the appraisal and voting.
Article 23 Confidentiality
All staff members (including members of the Science Committee and the Oversight Committee) who participate in the Future Science Prize selection process shall maintain confidentiality regarding the details of the selection process, and shall sign a confidentiality agreement with a confidentiality period of 50 years.
Chapter VI Awards
Article 24 Award Ceremony
The Executive Committee is responsible for organizing the Awards Ceremony of the Future Science Prize, clarifying to the public the reasons for the awards and the academic contributions of each of the Laureates.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 25 Approval, amendments and interpretations of the Bylaws
The legally binding bylaws shall be edited by the Executive Committee and approved by the Donors Assembly, the Executive Committee is responsible for explanations and supplementations of the bylaws.
Article 26 Effectiveness and implementation
The bylaws shall be effective on the date of its promulgation.
Executive Committee of the Future Science Prize
30th January 2021
