Roboticist Dr Takeo Kanade, medical scientist Dr Tasuku Honjo and philosopher Dr Martha Craven Nussbaum received the Kyoto Prize for their life’s work in the former imperial city today. The prize, alongside the Nobel, is among the world’s most prestigious awards, honouring the life’s work of researchers and thinkers who have made significant contributions to science and culture.
This year’s prize winners received the Kyoto Prize at an awards ceremony today. The Inamori Foundation is awarding the prestigious annual prize for the 32nd time this year on 10 November, recognising and honouring the life’s work of researchers and thinkers who have made significant contributions to science and culture. Three laureates from the fields of Arts and Philosophy, Advanced Technology and Basic Sciences received the award at the Kyoto International Conference Center in the former imperial city. Princess Takamado, a member of the Japanese imperial family, was also in attendance as well as over a thousand guests who were invited from the fields of science, culture and politics all over the world. The award includes a diploma, the Kyoto Prize medal and prize money of 50 million yen (approx. €430,000).
The Kyoto Prize: An award steeped in tradition
The Kyoto Prize was established in 1984 by Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera, a Japanese technology Group headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.
The Inamori Foundation, also founded by Kazuo Inamori, awards the prize every year in November in three categories: Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences and Arts and Philosophy.
Prize winners in the last 32 years include prominent figures such as the late choreographer Pina Bausch, philosopher Jürgen Habermas, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, French composer Pierre Boulez as well as molecular biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi, who received the Nobel Prize for his research this year.
You can find more information on the Kyoto Prize and the Inamori Foundation at http://www.kyotoprize.org/en/.
For more information on Kyocera: http://global.kyocera.com.