BEIJING -- Seven researchers were on Wednesday awarded Future Science Prizes for 2025 at a ceremony in Beijing.

Three paleontologists -- Ji Qiang, Xu Xing and Zhou Zhonghe -- received prizes in the life sciences for their discoveries of fossil evidence supporting the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs, according to a statement on the official Future Science Prize website.

Fang Zhong, Dai Xi and Ding Hong were awarded prizes in the physical sciences for their contributions to the computational prediction and experimental realization of topological electronic materials.

The winner of the prize in mathematics and computer science was Lu Chih-Yuan, who was awarded for his innovations and leadership in advancing non-volatile semiconductor memory technologies, including those related to cell density, device integration and data resiliency.

Future Science Prizes have been awarded to 46 people since the awards were established in 2016. The non-governmental Chinese science awards body was initiated by groups of scientists and entrepreneurs with the aim of advancing research in basic science.