On August 16, the Future Science Prize Committee announced the list of winners for 2023. Among all the eight individuals, Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) alumni Sun Jian (deceased) and Zhang Xiangyu were awarded the "Mathematics and Computer Science Prize" for their groundbreaking contribution to artificial intelligence through the proposal of deep residual learning.

Sun Jian (deceased).

Sun studied at XJTU from 1993 to 1997, earning a Bachelor's degree in Automatic Control. From 1997 to 2000, he pursued a Master's degree in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Control at XJTU. Three years later, he obtained his Ph.D. degree.

In 2003, he assumed the role of Chief Researcher at Microsoft Research Asia. In July 2016, he joined Megvii Technology as Chief Scientist and Head of Megvii Research. He also served as the inaugural Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence at XJTU.

Zhang Xiangyu.

Zhang studied Software Engineering at XJTU from 2008 to 2012, earning a Bachelor's degree. He continued his education from 2012 to 2017, pursuing a Ph.D. in Control Science and Engineering at XJTU in collaboration with Microsoft Research Asia. He currently serves as the head of the Basic Modules Group at the Megvii Research.

Deep neural networks have driven the revolution and development of artificial intelligence. Increasing the depth of neural networks has been a key factor in achieving groundbreaking advancements in many AI applications.

The award-winning team introduced deep residual learning, enabling neural networks to reach unprecedented depths and attain capabilities previously difficult to achieve. This breakthrough has contributed to several transformative achievements, including AlphaGo, AlphaFold, and ChatGPT.

The Future Science Prize was initiated in 2016 by a group of scientists and entrepreneurs. This prestigious award focuses on recognizing original and basic scientific research and honors scientists who have made outstanding scientific accomplishments in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

Since its inception in 2016, the Future Science Prize has recognized a total of 35 laureates from research fields including life sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science. They have made groundbreaking contributions and conducted research that has had a significant international impact.