KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Inamori Foundation today announced the 2018 laureates of its Kyoto Prize, Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, in the categories of Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy.
Details are available at https://www.inamori-f.or.jp/en/media/ or upon request.
Each laureate will receive a diploma, a 20-karat gold medal, and a monetary award of 100 million yen (about US$900,000) during the 34th annual Kyoto Prize presentation ceremony, Nov. 10, 2018, at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto, Japan. The laureates will give commemorative lectures on Nov. 11 and workshops on subsequent dates before reconvening for the 18th annual Kyoto Prize Symposium in San Diego, California, March 19-21, 2019.
The 2018 Kyoto Prize Laureates
In Arts and Philosophy, the 2018 Kyoto Prize laureate is Ms. Joan Jonas (b. July 13, 1936, age 81), a U.S. artist and professor emerita at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jonas created a new form of artistic expression in the early 1970s by integrating performance art with video. Through labyrinth-like works that lead audiences to diverse interpretations, she hands down the legacy of 1960s avant-garde art by developing it into a postmodern framework, profoundly impacting artists of later generations.
In Advanced Technology, the 2018 Kyoto Prize laureate is Dr. Karl Deisseroth (b. Nov. 18, 1971, age 46), a U.S. neuroscientist, professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Stanford University. Deisseroth is a pioneer in the field optogenetics — a new methodological discipline in which neurons can be activated or inhibited on the millisecond scale using light. This achievement has revolutionized the field of systems neuroscience, enabling causal study of neuronal assembly activity and resulting function, as compared to traditional correlational studies.
In Basic Sciences, the 2018 Kyoto Prize laureate is Dr. Masaki Kashiwara (b. Jan. 30, 1947, age 71), a Japanese mathematician and project professor at Kyoto University. Kashiwara is noted for his outstanding contributions to a broad spectrum of modern mathematics, which include establishing the theory of D-modules and playing a decisive role in the creation and development of algebraic analysis.
About the Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Prize
The Kyoto Prize is an international award bestowed by the non-profit Inamori Foundation to honor those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of humankind. The Foundation was established in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation; founder and honorary adviser to KDDI Corporation; and honorary adviser to Japan Airlines. Inamori created the Kyoto Prize in 1984, in line with his belief that people have no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of humankind and society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only through a balance between scientific progress and our spiritual depth. Counting the 2018 recipients, the prize has honored 109 laureates — 108 individuals and one group (the Nobel Foundation) — collectively representing 17 nations. Individual laureates range from scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, visual artists, architects, musicians, and film and stage directors. The United States has produced the most recipients (47), followed by Japan (22), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8). More information can be found at http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/en
