Singaporean physicist Shih Choon Fong received the Award for International Scientific Cooperation from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing on January 17.

Shih, a renowned educator and former president of the National University of Singapore (NUS), uses his international influence to encourage collaboration so that outstanding students from the University of CAS can study in leading universities such as MIT and Oxford.

He has also vigorously championed a CAS-led Liquid Sunshine International Coalition to offer green energy solutions.

Born in 1945, Shih received his PhD in applied science from Harvard University in 1973. He taught at Brown University in the United States from 1981 to 1996 and returned to the NUS in 1996. He served as the university's president for nine years until 2008.

Also awarded were Norwegian biologist Nils Christian Stenseth and Japanese meteorologist Toshio Koike.

Launched in 2007, the CAS award has been given to 34 foreign scientists.