Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman presented awards to the winners of King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for 2018 in Riyadh on Monday night.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the King Faisal Foundation, and several other princes, senior government officials, academics and scientists attended the ceremony held at Prince Sultan Grand Hall of Al-Faisaliah Center.
King Salman congratulated the winners of the prize in its five categories.
The monarch and other dignitaries watched a documentary film featuring the history of the 40-year-old prize and video presentation about the achievements of the winners.
Then, the King gave away the prizes. The winners thanked the King, the Kingdom as well as the foundation for honoring them with the prestigious award.
Speaking on the occasion, Prince Khaled said: "Forty years and a prize ...258 winners... And a great king ... And a great Kingdom... We have won with the wisdom of intellect every battle... It is a losing moment for terrorism... With the thought, culture and rhetoric, we raise the flag today... The honorable winners, you have served humanity, and the humanity is pleased with you. In the name of the strong and faithful king, Saudi Arabia and the Saudi people as well as the Arabian Peninsula, we thank you all.”
Those who attended the ceremony included Prince Saud Bin Salman, Prince Naif Bin Salman, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Board of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, emir of Riyadh and Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Khalid, secretary general of King Faisal Foundation.
Five researchers and scientists from Indonesia, Jordan, Tunisia, the US and the UK received the prize in five major categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science.
Indonesian Prof. Irwandi Jaswir, who is working as deputy dean of the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART) and Secretary of Council of Professors at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), received the King Faisal Prize for the Service to Islam.
Jaswir collaborated with other scientists to develop new methods for quick detection of non-Halal substances in food, cosmetics and other consumer goods used by Muslims. An instance of such methods is the ‘Portable Electronic Nose’ which detects within seconds the presence of alcohol and lard (porcine-derived fat) in food and beverages.
Jordan’s Prof. Bashar Awad, professor of Hadith at the International Islamic University, was presented with the prize for Islamic Studies for the topic “Critical Editions of Islamic Historical and Biographical Texts.” Tunisian national Prof. Chokri Mabkhout, Professor at Manoubah University, was honored for his contribution to Arabic language and literature for the topic “Studies Dealing with Autobiography in Arabic Literature.”
The Medicine prize was received by Prof. James P. Allison (US), Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair of the Department of Immunology, & Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. The topic for the Medicine prize for 2018 was “Immunotherapy for Cancer”.
Prof. Sir John M. Ball (UK), Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Oxford Director of the Oxford Centre for Nonlinear PDE, was presented with the prize for science for his fundamental and groundbreaking contributions to nonlinear partial differential equations, the calculus of variations, and dynamical systems. Members of the selection committees, eminent scholars, cultural figures and media persons also attended the function.
The prize consists of a hand-written calligraphy certificate summarizing the laureate’s work, a commemorative 24 carat, 200 grams gold medal and a prize money of $200,000.
