Mustafa Prize


The Mustafa Prize is a science and technology award, granted to top researchers and scientists from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states.. The prize is granted to scholars of the Islamic world as one of the symbols of scientific excellence in recognition of the outstanding scientists and pioneers of scientific and technological cooperation and development in the world.The science and technology $500,000 prize, Medal, and Diploma are awarded to Muslim researchers and scientists, regardless of whether they live in Muslim-majority nations or elsewhere, as well as non-Muslim scientists in Muslim countries. In 2016, science journal called the prize, the Muslim Nobel.
The Mustafa Prize is held biennially during the Islamic Unity week in Iran.
The prize is awarded in the four categories of "Information and Communication Science and Technology," "Life and Medical Science and Technology," "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology," and "All Areas of Science and Technology". These areas include the following UNESCO fields of education: natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics; information and communication technologies; engineering, manufacturing, and construction; agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary; health and welfare as well as cognitive science and Islamic economics and banking.
The Mustafa Foundation seeks to encourage education and research and is set to play the pioneering role in developing regional relations between science and technology institutions working in member states of the Organization of Islamic Countries. Thus, the prize is granted to the works which are deemed to have improved human life and made tangible and cutting-edge innovations on the boundaries of science or have presented new scientific methodology.
The Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation maintains independence in achieving its goals by adopting a nonprofit approach. Therefore, in order to finance the Mustafa Prize and to develop science and technology in the Islamic world enjoying the tradition of endowment, the Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation has sought to attract, organize, and target the resources provided by the benefactors in science and technology. As part of the Khadem al-Mustafa Community, these benefactors make contributions through scientific vow and scientific endowment in science and technology.
There are other scientific events held along each round of Mustafa Prize during the Mustafa Prize Week. These side programs, which aim at enhancing networking, accreditation, capacity-building and discourse-making among the scientists from the Islamic world, include Science and Technology Exchange Programs and Exposure of Industries to Scientifics' Achievements. Other programs held with the same aims at different times are KANS Scientific Competition and Noor Student Competition.
Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation has also formed several committees to organize the Mustafa Prize. These committees hold regular meetings to discuss various aspects of the prize and the programs. The Mustafa Prize policy-making Council, tasked with supervising various procedures of the event, is composed of high-profile universities and academic centers of OIC member states. In 2017, the secretary of Mustafa prize policy-making council emphasized that the entity has no formal political relations with any country. The MSTF Advisory Board is comprised of volunteer high-rank academics, public sector officials, technologists, and business leaders from the Islamic community who will advise and recommend the MSTF at a strategic level and help it in achieving its objectives through promoting public awareness, fundraising, and networking. Other communities created to achieve the goals of Mustafa Foundation are Safir Al-Mustafa Club, Mustafa Prize Volunteers Community, The Mustafa Art Museum, the MSTF Laboratory Network, and the MSTF innovation labs. Nature interpreted the establishment of the prize as growing importance of domestic science in Iran and the nurturing of scientific cooperation and exchange with other nations.

Objectives

The Mustafa Prize is a platform for top scientists and innovative engineers from OIC member states to present their achievements to the world. It aims to improve scientific relations between academics and researchers in order to facilitate the growth of science in OIC member states. OIC is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with about sixty member countries over four continents.
Mustafa Foundation intends to honor the scientists of the Islamic world and appreciate their efforts, along with training future scientists worldwide.
The MSTF tries to develop cooperation, synergy, and convergence in the realm of modern sciences and new technologies and also puts effort into making the distinguished figures in science and technology role models. Through identifying, introducing, and praising the leading figures in science and technology in the Islamic world, the Mustafa Prize intends to promote and encourage research in Muslim societies. Further, The MSTF aims to identify distinguished scientists of the Islamic World and benefit from their potential for the wellbeing of humanity, to promote public awareness in Science and Technology, improve the dynamics for educational and research atmosphere for students, encourage the scientific community to utilize scientific findings to solve social issues, support the establishment of scientific networks in the Islamic World,, and develop scientific and technological cooperation scientific centers at international level.
The Mustafa Prize Committee has emphasized that the award shall serve as a beacon to other Islamic researchers to perform high-quality, high-impact research. The Committee further stated that, ‘OIC and other developing countries have to create a paradigm shift to again become a community that values knowledge and become proficient in utilizing and advancing Science & Technology to enhance their socioeconomic wellbeing as well as humanity’s’.

Nominations

For the first three categories, "Information and Communication Science and Technology," "Life and Medical Science and Technology," and "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology," the nominees should be citizens of one of the 57 Islamic countries with no restrictions on religion, gender and/or age. However, for the category "All Areas of Science and Technology," only Muslims may be nominated with no restrictions on citizenship, gender and/or age.
The following are the conditions of nomination:
The nominees can only be nominated by one of the following scientific institutions and renowned scientists:
- Accredited scientific centers and universities
- Science and technology associations and centers of excellence
- Academies of science of Islamic countries
- Science and technology parks
The call for Mustafa Prize nomination is sent out to institutions prior to the prize, setting a deadline for them to submit their works.

Categories

Life and Medical Science and Technology

Our understanding and knowledge of principal structures shaping the life on the planet has undergone massive changes over the past half century. The new fields of study in biosciences including the genetics, molecular biology, neurology etc. have improved our perception of the functions of the living systems.
The knowledge has not been restricted to theoretical findings inside the world of science, and has also left numerous influence on the welfare and health of the people through providing tangible solutions.
The Mustafa Prize will be awarded to the top work in fields and applications associated with the biomedical sciences and technologies which has left a lasting impact on our perception of the life and how it has improved the quality of human life.

Information and Communication Science and Technology

The achievements made by the information and communication Science and technology have been so tremendous in our life in recent decades that living without them is almost inconceivable. It is in light of these sciences and technologies that we are living in a more sensitive and smarter environment allowing us to interact with the surrounding tools and entities.
We are now connected to the world from everywhere on the planet enabling us to be informed about everything we need and to present what we have achieved.
The Mustafa Prize is awarded to a work which has, through its findings, played an important role in the advancement in these fields of science across the world or it has paved the way for an effective global communication or a positive change in people’s lifestyle.

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Over the past few decades, researchers have passed through the normal features of the substances to give them new properties. The new capability is, in fact, the result of manipulating the properties through the smallest scales up to the molecules and atoms of the substances and living cells. The startling progress has opened new chapters in theoretical and applied interdisciplinary researches which, if further developed, can help other branches of science to grow in various parts of the world.
To expand the Nano science and Nanotechnology and to unveil the options embedded in this fairly young field of science, the Mustafa Prize will be granted to an innovative, pioneering initiative which increases our knowledge of the supramolecular scale and benefits the human society.

All areas of science and technology

There are many researchers across the world helping progress in various fields of science and improving human life through their innovations and findings.
The Prize honors Top Scientific Achievement that has played a considerable role in the human life or has expanded the boundaries of our perception about the world.
All the above areas include the following UNESCO fields of education: natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics; information and communication technologies; engineering, manufacturing, and construction; agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary; health and welfare as well as cognitive science and Islamic Economics and Banking.

The 2015 Mustafa Prize

The first round of Mustafa Prize took place on December 25, 2015, during the Islamic Unity Week at Tehran's Vahdat Hall with the presence of more than 60 distinguished guests from 28 countries and high-profile officials, politicians and celebrities of Iran. In this inaugural round, only two of the four categories were judged to have outstanding nominations. Thus, two nanobiology experts took home Mustafa Prizes: Jackie Ying, executive director of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology of A*STAR in Singapore and Omar Yaghi, co-director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Jackie Ying won the “top scientific achievement” award for a body of work including nanoparticles that deliver insulin to diabetic patients. Omar Yaghi won the prize for designing and production of classes of compounds known as Metal-organic Frameworks, Zeolite Imidazolate Frameworks and Covalent Organic Frameworks.
The laureates of the 2015 Mustafa Prize were introduced by a short documentary and gave a speech after receiving their medals and certificates. Then, they participated in a few meetings the day after the main ceremony and elaborated on their achievements. Omar Yaghi in his address at the award ceremony stated that “It is a great honor to receive the Mustafa Prize. I thank the members of the policy council for the prize. I was born in Jordan and I began drawing molecular structures when I was 10. This love has been with me since then.” He stressed the importance of allowing scientists the freedom to experience failure and to find their own path to scientific success. Jackie Ying later announced that she intends to use a portion of the prize money to get more students intrigued about science, such as through exchange trips to renowned overseas science institutions and better-equipped school laboratories. She also said that she would start her effort at her alma mater Raffles Girls' School, the school that she had attended when younger.
Hossein Zohour, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Mustafa Prize in his speech stated that Jackie Ying's work is an outstanding scientific contribution of great promise for improving the quality of life of mankind since it contributes to the development of stimuli-responsive polymeric nanoparticles that deliver insulin to diabetic patients only when their blood glucose levels are high, without the need for external blood glucose monitoring.
In a press conference before the award ceremony, Mehdi Safarinia, Secretary of Policy Making Council of Mustafa Prize, announced that the prize "was approved by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution as a great science and technology insignia in the Islamic world in 2012, and its strategies and policies were being investigated within the last 3 years, which resulted to holding the first round this year."
A student competition named "Light of Ibn Al-Haytham Film Competition" was also held in the sidelines of the first round of the 2015 Mustafa Prize. The competition was named as such since UNESCO proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies and Ibn Al-Haytham, the Muslim scholar. Over 9000 students took part in this competition which aimed at raising the Iranian students’ awareness about this scientist’s achievements and the Optics.

The 2017 Mustafa Prize

The second Mustafa Prize was held on December 3, 2017, on the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad in Vahdat Hall in Tehran, Iran, with the participation of over sixty prominent scholars and scientists from Islamic countries. Two computer science experts, an Iranian and a Turkish-French, won the award. Sami Erol Gelenbe was awarded the Mustafa Prize for his pioneering research on “Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computer Systems.” He invented the random neural network and the eponymous G-networks or Gelenbe Networks as a model for queueing systems. Mohammad Amin Shokrollahi also won Mustafa Prize for his work on Communications: Raptor Codes. The world's most advanced forward error correction code for data networks, Raptor codes invented by Shokrollahi in 2001, provide protection against packet loss by sending additional repair data used to reconstruct "erased" or "lost" data.
Regarding the significance of the Mustafa Prize Shokrollahi said that “all indications show that it is going to become a major award in line with the largest awards given in the world of science.” Gelenbe, also believed that the prize can “reestablish links across the Muslim world.” He also said "I am surprised and honoured to get this award. I’ve never been to Iran before and this promises to be an amazing first visit. I’ve always had a passion for fundamental research on the mathematical foundations for computer and communication systems, which lead to building better systems and improving their usage and performance, and that is what has driven me over the years, so it is nice to be honoured in this way.”
According to Hassan Zohoor, the Head of the 2017 Mustafa Prize Scientific Committee, the nominees were picked among 700 Muslim scientists, 200 scientific institutes and organizations in the Islamic world. Also, 363 international institutes, 51 Islamic countries and 1622 scientists from 28 countries participated in the nomination process of the 2017 Mustafa Prize. Amongst the main criteria taken into consideration while evaluating the works were the prominent role of the scientists, owning at least one special scientific work and regional as well as global influence.
More than 400 natural persons and legal entities financed the Mustafa Foundation in an effort to make the world’s biggest Islamic Fund in the development of science and technology. Prior to the ceremony, Mahdi Safarinia, Secretary of Mustafa Prize, emphasized the endowment process of the establishment and operation of the Foundation and noted that some 400 leaders endowed the foundation to make it the world’s biggest Islamic fund in the development of science and technology. Safarnia also described the mission of MSTF as supporting and developing science and technology throughout the world, improving the areas of international cooperation regarding science and technology, and laying the foundation to restore the Islamic Golden Age and benefit and empower other states.”
Sorena Sattari, Iranian vice president and Chairman of Policymaking Council of the Mustafa Prize, granted the Mustafa Medal, a Diploma and $500,000 and an appreciation tablet of the Foundation to the laureates, stating that Gelenbe and Shokrollahi, are being honored for their achievements in systems assessment in model-making and computer coding. Romain Murenzi, Executive Director of the World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries, called the laureates “the roles models for society who constantly portray strenuous efforts in carrying social responsibilities and representing appropriate symbols of precious world in society. They are the ones who also play important roles in broadening the scientific borders for public welfare.” He also said the Mustafa Prize has set the stage for “creative students” to address challenges in society, that the cooperation of Islamic scientists in science and technology empowers the Islamic world as a whole and that the synergy of science and technology, like during the golden era of Islamic civilization, definitely will bring about significant progress for humanity.”
The third Science and Technology Exchange Program was also held during the 2017 Mustafa Prize Week in Tehran in 10 universities of Iran with the participation of 90 scientists from 30 countries. Further science and technology conferences which were held in Iran and Malaysia in 2015 and 2016 as part of Mustafa Foundation's programs were also held during the 2017 Mustafa Prize Week.

The 2019 Mustafa Prize

The third Mustafa Prize award ceremony was held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on November 11, 2019, with the participation of over 30 Muslim countries and more than 100 scientists and academicians worldwide. Two-hundred and two research centers and 512 scientists from 52 countries have been invited to submit projects, while 1,649 had attended the nomination process. As a result of the 800-hour evaluation of 500 jury members from 200 universities and 35 countries, the Mustafa Prize was awarded to five Iranian and Turkish scientists.
In the Field of life and medical science and technology, the Mustafa Prize 2019 was shared between Ugur Sahin, a Turkish professor of experimental oncology and founder of TRON GmbH, Mainz, Germany, and Ali Khademhosseini, an Iranian professor at the University of California-Los Angeles who holds a multi-departmental professorship in bioengineering, radiology, chemical, and biomolecular engineering. Sahin received the award for his seminal work on individualized cancer immunotherapies, in particular for the development and clinical testing of mRNA-based vaccines that are tailored to each patient's mutation profile. Ali Khademhosseini won the award for his work on Nano and Micro fabricated Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications.
In the field of All Areas of Science and Technology, three other scientists shared the prize: Umran Inan, a Turkish scientist, emeritus professor at Stanford University and head of Koç University; Hossein Baharvand, an Iranian professor at Royan Institute; and Mohammad Abdolahad, a faculty member at the University of Tehran.
Inan won the prize for his work on whistler-mode wave-particle interaction in near-Earth space, and the electrodynamic coupling between lighting discharges and the upper atmosphere. Baharvand was granted the prize for his work on Parkinson's treatment and Eye AMD with Stem Cell. Abdolahad took the award for Translating the Behavior of Healthy and Cancerous Cells into the Electronic Field.
Nominees of this round of Mustafa Prize were chosen based on an outstanding work or service which is important in the field of health, safety and welfare of the society. The works were up to date and commercialized or were in the commercialization procedure. Iranian Vice President, Sorena Sattari, upon granting the Mustafa prize to the five laureates stated that Iran’s achievements came from investing in its young people and not only from its oil revenue. Sorena Sattari also gave a speech during which he stated that “Science and technology interactions are solid links that have nothing to do with governments and political events in the world.” He also stated that increased scientific interactions will boost the relationship between nations, youth and governments and that increasing women's participation in the sphere of science and technology is one of the goals of the Mustafa Prize.
The ceremony featured leading Muslim scholars who presented their influential works in science and technology. Further, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran; Alireza Marandi, head of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and also some Iranian lawmakers attended the ceremony.
  Also various representatives from several countries such as Khazar University’s representatives, Hamlet Isakhanli, Irada Khalilova, Javid Ojaghi, and Rustam Rustamov and USJA President & CEO William Odinga Balikuddembe attended the ceremony.
The inauguration ceremony of the 3rd Mustafa Prize was held on November 9, 2019 at Alzahra University. The 6th Science and Technology Exchange Program started the same day and lasted till the end of the 2019 Mustafa Prize Week in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Sharif University of Technology, Alzahra University, Imam Sadiq University and Iran Broadcasting University.
This round of Mustafa Prize came against the backdrop of U.S. sanctions on Tehran and Iran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers. Khademhosseini in an interview stated that he hopes the sanctions will be removed to pave the ground for scientific cooperation. He said “Clearly sanctions made things more difficult. That’s something that hopefully over time we can overcome.”

Criteria

Submitted works should not have been awarded any other international prizes. A judging panel consisting of seven high-profile researchers and academics examine the works and select one according to the following criteria:

Distinctive features of the work

The work should be notably innovative and outstanding; it should have specific applications and tangible results with reasons specified for its significance.

Influence of the work

The work should have already resulted in advancing the frontiers of knowledge; it should also have had a great regional or global impact. Its results should have been published either in the form of a scientific theory or should have potential for production and wealth generation. Moreover, it should have a visible impact on the economy, culture, society, health, environment, and/or public welfare. The work should also have a share in addressing scientific and technological needs and solving social problems.

Owner of the work

The owner of the work should have a high scientific profile and good reputation. This manifests itself in the number and quality of his/her publications, innovations, patents, etc. The nominee should also have an innovative and holistic scientific spirit.

Laureates

Award ceremony

The award ceremony of all previous rounds of Mustafa prize is held at Tehran's Vahdat Hall with attendance of international scientists from around the world.

Memorial

This prize is named after one of the monikers of Muhammad, who always emphasized education and learning. “Mustafa” means “The Chosen One”. The Musatafa Prize laureates will receive 500,000 USD and an engraved medal and a diploma in each category. The 97 percent silver medal is covered in 22-karat gold which makes 3 percent of its weight. The medal is engraved with the logo of the prize, the year in which the medal is awarded, and the category which is awarded for.

Secretariat

The Policy Making Council of the prize will supervise the procedure of awarding the prize to the laureates. Members of the policy making council are OIC related organizations and a number of top academic institutions of member states, such as Islamic World Academy of Sciences, Islamic Development Bank, Academy of Sciences of I.R. Iran, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, University of Malaya, University of Karachi and some other significant academic institutions. Pardis Technology Park, which is based in Tehran is one of the sub-organs of Iran’s Presidential Deputy for Science and Technology, and is responsible for establishing the secretariat of the Mustafa Prize. The secretariat is in charge of executive affairs of the event, including call for submissions, applications, organizing the final ceremony and managing the brand of the prize.

The policy-making council

The Mustafa Prize Policy-Making Council was established in 2013 before the first round of the Mustafa Prize with Sorena Sattari and Mahdi Safarinia as the chairman and secretary of the council, respectively. Tasked with supervising various procedures of the Mustafa Prize, the council is comprised of the well-known scholars of the high-profile universities and academic centers of OIC member states. The role of the Policy-making Council is proposing general criteria and introducing measures by the Islamic centers of the world to be taken into consideration by local and international workgroups of the Mustafa Prize.
During the 4th and 5th meetings of Mustafa Prize Policy Making Council in 2015 the final date of the 2015 Mustafa Prize ceremony was set and the membership of the permanent committee of OIC’s Science and Technology activities in the policy-making council was approved. Discussing the laureates of the Prize and evaluating the performance of the secretariat of Mustafa Foundation were among the other activities carried out.
During the 6th meeting of the council in 2016, the new decisions for the future of Mustafa Prize were announced which included the selection of new universities of Muslim countries and international Islamic organizations as members of the Policy-Making Council, adding two major Muslim countries to the prize organization, and expanding the fourth category of the Mustafa Prize into two new categories were among the decisions.
The 7th meeting of the council aimed at finalizing the selection of the laureates of the 2017 Mustafa Prize, and also the plans for establishing Safir Al-Mustafa Community and a scientific competition named KANS were revealed. Similarly, the Science and Technology Exchange Program in Islamic Countries was introduced as one of the plans of MSTF.
During the 9th meeting of Mustafa Prize Policy-making Council in 2019, the particulars of the 2019 Mustafa Prize were discussed and it was announced that Mustafa Art Museum has been established in Pardis Technology Park, where it is planned to present the language of art related to technology. The 10th meeting of Mustafa Prize Policymaking Council was held on November 11, 2019, simultaneous with the 3rd meeting of the Advisory Council of Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation. In this meeting, prominent scientists from 40 different Islamic countries were brought together to share their ideas regarding the ongoing events held by Mustafa Foundation and to raise questions about the strategies of the foundation. At the end of the meeting, the artworks of Mustafa Art Museum were unveiled in the presence of the guests.

Endowment

The prize money for the Mustafa Prize is financed through endowment. Mustafa Prize Endowment Office accepts donations from all individuals who are interested in helping development of science and technology. Money received via donations, in addition to funding the prize money will be used in granting financial support for scientific researches in related fields and supporting intergovernmental programs for development of technology in the OIC member states.
Additionally, the Islamic Development Bank, will be building a trade center in Tehran which will be one of the largest in the Middle East, and donate its proceedings to the prize.