Three distinguished scientists honored at closing ceremony of the 6th Mustafa Prize
The closing ceremony of the 6th Mustafa Prize, the premier international award for science and technology in the Islamic world, was held on Tuesday, at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall. The event brought together senior officials and prominent scientists from across the Muslim world.
The ceremony was attended by Hossein Afshin, Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Ali Akbar Salehi, Chairman of the Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation, Mehdi Safarinia, the Foundation’s CEO, and Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary-General of COMSTECH, alongside a distinguished gathering of scholars and laureates.
Established as the most prestigious scientific award in the Islamic world, the Mustafa Prize is presented biennially to honor groundbreaking achievements in science and technology with global impact.
Each laureate receives the Mustafa Medal, a diploma of honor, and a financial award of $500,000, funded through endowments and contributions from charitable foundations.
In the 2025 edition, three eminent scientists were recognized:
Mehmet Toner of Turkey, Professor at Harvard University, was honored in the category of life sciences and medicine for his pioneering work in the design of microfluidic chips for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs), a breakthrough technology that has revolutionized early cancer detection and monitoring.
Vahab Mirrokni of Iran was awarded in the field of information and communication technology for his innovative research on “proximity-sensitive hashing schemes based on p-stable distributions,” which has paved the way for the development of advanced large-scale data search algorithms.
Mohammad Khwaja Nazeeruddin of India was recognized in the category of basic and engineering sciences for his groundbreaking contributions to perovskite solar cells, offering new horizons for sustainable energy development and reducing global dependence on fossil fuels.
In addition to the award ceremony, scientific networking programs such as the Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP) and the Mustafa Science and Technology Network (MUST) sessions were held on the sidelines of the event, fostering dialogue and collaboration among scholars of the Islamic world.
