The great master of mathematics Prof. Shing-Tung Yau has a firm teaching belief of "cultivating and discovering talents should begin with high school students". By introducing the organization and selection methods of international competition to China, he has established S.-T. Yau High School Science Award since 2008.

This competition is much different from the original science competitions: first, it is available to the global high school students; secondly, it requires the students to submit their research reports instead of writing the standard answers to the examination papers.

There was only mathematical award 18 years ago. As time goes by, physical award, chemical award, biological award, computer award and Economic and Financial Modeling award of S.-T. Yau High School Science Award have been already established to make up of a complete scientific award system with mathematical award. S.-T. Yau High School Science Award is promoting the development of Chinese youth scientific research and helping the talented and enthusiastic teenagers to explore the mysteries of science.

The Shing-Tung Yau High School Science Award has been successfully held for 17 times. More than 17200 teams participated in the Competition, covering 30 provincial-level regions in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as the United States, the UK, Canada, Singapore and other regions and countries. A total of 647 student teams and more than 1125 individuals have received prizes. More than half of the award-winning students have gained admission to prestigious universities both domestically and internationally, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, and Princeton University. Many awardees have pursued further academic research careers.