Frank H. Shu, a professor of physics at UC San Diego, has been awarded the $1 million Shaw Prize for his research in astronomy.

The award, sometimes called the "Nobel Prize of the East," goes to scientists who have made exceptional discoveries in astronomy, mathematical sciences or life sciences and medicine. Hong Kong media mogul Run Run Shaw established the award, administered by the Shaw Prize Foundation in Hong Kong.

Shu, a resident of Solana Beach, was honored for his research into the beginnings of solar systems and stars. His theory explained how vast magnetic fields and turbulence worked with gravity to bring together thinly dispersed matter to form stars and planets. Previous theories relied on gravity to explain the process.

For example, the spiral shape of galaxies and the rings of Saturn are explained by Shu's work. The shapes were created by density waves as matter aggregated billions of years ago, according to a theory he co-developed in the 1960s.

Shu himself was not available for comment because he was traveling back to the United States from Taiwan.

Mark Thiemens, a friend of Shu's who is dean of UCSD's Division of Physical Sciences, said he knew about Shu by reputation long before Shu joined UCSD in 2006.

"If you pick up any fundamental book on solar systems and star formation and evolution of galaxies, a really broad range of topics, you're going to run across Frank's name," Thiemens said. "He really wrote the book, so to speak, on how those things work. It's pretty hard to avoid the name Frank Shu in astronomy and astrophysics."

Thiemens said Shu's work is helpful for ongoing research, because it gives scientists an idea of what to expect and what to measure.

Together with his students, Shu predicted that comets would contain material that had been affected by heat. Conventional theory said comets were formed from cold clumps of matter.

Analysis of comet dust samples confirmed Shu's prediction.

Shu was born in Kunming, China, in 1943, and arrived in the United States when he was 6. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963 and earned his doctorate in astronomy at Harvard in 1968. He joined UCSD after serving as president of National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.

Shu is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Call staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at 760-739-6641. Read his blogs at bizblogs.nctimes.com.