Asian Science Camp 2026
Meet Our Speakers
ASC2026 invites Nobel Laureates and distinguished scholars from diverse fields to host plenary lectures, lead discussions, and engage in dialogues with our young scientists. These interactions offer invaluable opportunities for participants to connect with world-renowned thinkers in science, gain unique insights, and be inspired by their experiences and achievements as they explore the latest advances together.
Nobel Laureates
ASC2026 proudly welcomes a number of Nobel Laureates in Chemistry and Physics, whose groundbreaking research and visionary contributions continue to inspire the next generation of scientists.
Prof. Aaron Ciechanover
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004
Affiliation
Rappaport-Technion Integrated Cancer Center (R-TICC)
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Biography
Aaron Ciechanover is a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He received his M.Sc. (1971) and M.D. (1973) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and later a doctorate in biology in the Faculty of Medicine in the Technion (D.Sc.; 1982). There, as a graduate student with Dr. Avram Hershko and in collaboration with Dr. Irwin A. Rose from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, USA, they discovered the ubiquitin proteolytic system. As a post- doctoral fellow with Dr. Harvey Lodish at the M.I.T., he continued his studies on the ubiquitin system and made additional important discoveries. Along the years it has become clear that ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis plays major roles in numerous cellular processes, and aberrations in the system underlie the pathogenetic mechanisms of many diseases, among them certain malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. Consequently, the system has become an important platform for drug development. Among the numerous prizes Ciechanover received are the 2000 Albert Lasker Award and the 2004 Nobel Prize (Chemistry; shared with Drs. Hershko and Rose). Among many academies, Ciechanover is member of the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) and Medicine (NAM) of the USA (Foreign Associate).
Prof. Sir Andre Geim
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010
Affiliation
The University of Hong Kong
Biography
Sir Andre Geim has received numerous international honors, including the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is a member of the British, Chinese and American academies of sciences, among others, and has been repeatedly named among the world’s most cited scientists. His publication record includes fifty papers exceeding 1,000 citations and ten surpassing 10,000. Two of these are among the 100 most cited research papers in human history, according to journal Nature. He is credited with opening three new research fronts — diamagnetic levitation, gecko tape and graphene. Sir Andre has been knighted by both the Dutch and British monarchs.
Sir Gregory Paul Winter
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
Affiliation
Trinity College, Cambridge
Biography
Sir Gregory Paul Winter FRS is a molecular biologist best known for his work on developing the technologies for making therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. His inventions have been used in top selling pharmaceutical drugs, especially for treatment of non-infectious diseases, including multiple sclerosis, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, and he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2018. His scientific career was based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge), where he combined his research and administrative duties with the founding of three biotech companies. Now retired, he continues as a Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge and with his entrepreneurial activities, and is currently a Director of Constructive Biology Ltd, and a scientific advisor to Ahren Innovation Capital.
Prof. Omar M. Yaghi
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025
Affiliation
James and Neeltje Tretter Professor of Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley
Biography
Omar M. Yaghi is a chemist recognized for pioneering reticular chemistry and for developing major classes of porous crystalline materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and molecular weaving. His research has transformed the field of materials chemistry through the design and synthesis of highly ordered structures with exceptionally large surface areas and tunable properties. These materials have enabled advances in hydrogen and methane storage, carbon capture and conversion, catalysis, and water harvesting from desert air, with broad implications for clean energy, sustainability, and climate technologies. His building-block approach to assembling extended molecular structures has opened new directions in chemistry and materials science, leading to widespread scientific impact. Yaghi has received numerous international honors for his contributions to science, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Solvay Prize, the Tang Prize, the Balzan Prize, the Materials Research Society Von Hippel Award, the King Faisal International Prize, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and the VinFuture Prize.
Plenary Speakers
With their pioneering research and international recognition, ASC2026 is honored to invite renowned scholars as plenary lecturers.
Prof. Dennis Lo Yuk-ming
The Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award 2022
Affiliation
Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Li Ka Shing Professor of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
President, Hong Kong Academy of Sciences
Fellow of the Royal Society International member of US National Academy of Sciences
Foreign member of the Academia Europaea
Biography
Professor Dennis Lo discovered the presence of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood in 1997. He has spearheaded the development of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) which is now used worldwide. He has also pioneered technologies for the detection of cancer using peripheral blood. His technologies have underpinned recently launched tests for multi-cancer early detection (MCED). He has won numerous awards, including the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the 2022 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the 2023 inaugural Tengchong Science Prize, the 2024 Jiménez Díaz Lecture Award, the 2025 Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology by March of Dimes and the 2026 AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship.
Prof. Vivian Yam Wing-wah
L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards 2011
Affiliation
The University of Hong Kong
Biography
Vivian W.-W. Yam obtained both her BSc (Hons) and PhD from The University of Hong Kong, and is currently the Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy and Chair Professor of Chemistry there. She was elected to Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, International Member of US National Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member of Academia Europaea, Fellow of TWAS and Founding Member of Hong Kong Academy of Sciences. She was the Laureate of 2011 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award, and a recipient of Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry, RSC Centenary Medal, RSC Ludwig Mond Award, Porter Medal, Bailar Medal, IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry Award, etc. Her research interests include inorganic, organometallic and supramolecular chemistry, photophysics and photochemistry, and molecular functional materials for sensing, organic optoelectronics and energy research.