Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz patronized in Riyadh on Monday the giving-away ceremony of the 40th edition of the five-category King Faisal International Prize 2018 at al-Faisaliah Hotel.
The prize, launched by the King Faisal Foundation in 1979, recognizes outstanding work by individuals and institutions in five categories: service to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic language and literature, medicine, and science.
Upon arrival at Prince Sultan Grand Gallery at the hotel, the Custodian was received by Advisor to the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region Prince Khalid al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Executive President of King Faisal Charitable Foundation and Chairman of King Faisal International Prize Panel, Chairman of the Board of Directors for King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, and Secretary General of King Faisal Charitable Foundation Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khalid.
The King was accompanied by Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Naif bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Addressing the gathering, Prince Khalid al-Faisal welcomed the monarch's patronage, discussed the prize's history, and congratulated the winners on their prestigious honor. Then, the attendees viewed a documentary on the history of the 40-year-old prize.
"Forty years and a prize. 258 winners, a great king, and a great Kingdom. We have won with the wisdom of intellect every battle. It is a losing moment for terrorism," said Prince Khalid.
He then addressed the winners thanking them for serving humanity, saying: "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."
After that, Secretary General of the King Faisal International Prize, Abdulaziz al-Sabeel, presented the winners of the awards and King Salman handed them the prizes.
"Service to Islam" award was granted to Irwandi Jaswir from Indonesia for his contribution to the establishment of "Halal Science" in the field of food through its scientific research projects and development. He is 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).
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 in food and beverages.
King Salman also handed over the "Islamic Studies" award to Professor Bashar Awad from Jordan for the topic "Critical Editions of Islamic Historical and Biographical Texts." Through his work, Awad established rules for investigation, making it a science based on precision and integrity.
Professor Chokri Mabkhout of Tunisia received the award for "Arabic Language and Literature Studies" for his contribution to Arabic language and literature for the topic "Studies Dealing with Autobiography in Arabic Literature."
Medicine Professor James Allison was awarded the "Medicine" prize for "Immunotherapy for Cancer." He found that stimulating the receptors inhibits the immune cell and was a pioneer in developing these inhibitors and using them to treat multiple types of cancer.
The "Science" award was granted to UK's Science Professor Sir John Ball for his fundamental and groundbreaking contributions to the field of nonlinear partial differential equations, calculus of variations, and dynamical systems. He developed innovative methods in these fields that are widely used in today's mathematics, as well as his wide ranged service to the scientific community through his leadership in leading mathematical initiatives around the world.
The winners expressed their gratitude to Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and their pride in receiving the King Faisal International Prize, which encourages researchers and specialists in their fields of science.
The prize consists of a hand-written calligraphy certificate, a 200 grams gold medal and a prize money of $200,000.
