Rainer Weiss, US physicist and Nobel laureate [Photo provided to China Daily]

Thorne was honored for creating research programs that modeled gravitational waves emitted by astrophysical processes and developed data-analysis methods. He also contributed to the formulation of fundamental concepts in the theory of quantum metrology.

Barish was awarded for leadership in the construction and initial operations of LIGO and the creation of the international LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

The scientists' findings and their research launched a new era of science, says Samuel Chao Chung Ting, a Chinese-American Nobel laureate and chairman of the award committee.

Their research also lays a solid foundation for black hole research, and has propelled the development of different science fields, including nuclear physics and astrophysics, says Ting.

The lecture in Beijing was hosted by the Future Forum, a nonprofit platform devoted to promoting science and scientists in China. It covered an array of physics topics, ranging from the introduction of the Nobel laureates' cutting-edge research to future LIGO improvements.

Weiss and Thorne also answered questions from the audience during the panel discussion moderated by Zhang Fan, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University.