The project titled Discovery of the Chemical Imprints of the First Generation of Supermassive Stars in the Universe and the Early Merger Remnants of the Milky Way, led by Zhao Gang – an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories, and the director of the Institute of Astronomy and Physics at Inner Mongolia University – has won the 2026 Tan Kah Kee Science Awards in mathematical and physical sciences.

Academician Zhao Gang wins 2026 Tan Kah Kee Science Awards in mathematical and physical sciences. [Photo/Hohhot Convergence Media]

Academician Zhao has long been engaged in research in observational astrophysics. He has achieved systematic and original results on major scientific issues, including the search for the universe's first generation of supermassive stars, the study of metal-poor stars, the reconstruction of the Milky Way's merger and formation history, and the investigation of the origin and evolution of lithium. 

His research has been awarded the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Prize of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others. His work has also been repeatedly selected among China's top 10 scientific advances and top 10 astronomical and technological advances.