Foundation
The origin of The Ding Prize
On April 25, 2026, Mr. Ziheng Ding decided to sponsor the prize with a donation of RMB 1, encouraging outstanding work in the Radio Astronomy Laboratory of the Department of Astronomy at Tsinghua University.
Trial selection rules were released on July 14, 2026. The inaugural ceremony is tentatively scheduled for December 31; award records will be published after the committee reaches its decisions.
Read the foundation newsPrizes
Current prize categories
The inaugural categories are the PhD Student Award, Postdoctoral Fellow Award, Supervisor Award, Sports Award, and Moyu Award. Each recognizes a different form of contribution to research life.
Prize category
The Ding Prize PhD Student Award
Recognizes current doctoral students for substantial progress in scientific questions, technical methods, data products, teamwork, or laboratory public service—without treating publication counts or all-nighters as the sole measure.
RMB 0.2 and one symbolic no-all-nighter voucher.
Read category notesPrize category
The Ding Prize Postdoctoral Fellow Award
Recognizes current postdoctoral fellows for independent research, project advancement, methodological innovation, support for younger colleagues, and connective work across the team.
RMB 0.2 and authorization to cite joint certification by blind review and public acclamation.
Read category notesAwards
Award records have not yet been announced
The Ding Prize is expected to begin in 2026. No awardees, nominations, or selection results have been announced yet.
This section is intentionally blank until the first awards are officially announced.
Ceremony
Inaugural ceremony plan
The ceremony is tentatively scheduled for December 31, 2026, in a shared laboratory space, with safe symbolic smoke signals used to announce decisions.
Trial selection measures released
Five categories, internal nomination rules, evaluation criteria, and the RMB 1 prize distribution were formally announced.
Inaugural ceremony, tentative
Planned for a shared laboratory space; the date may move if observations, meetings, or server failures intervene.
Official announcement
A decision becomes official only after a safe symbolic white-smoke signal and the secretary's formal reading of the laureate's name.