Inamori Foundation President Kazuo Inamori named the laureates of the foundation’s 20th annual Kyoto Prizes, international awards presented to people who have made significant contributions in advanced technology, basic sciences and arts and philosophy.
The laureates will convene in San Diego in March for the fourth annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium, a three-day celebration of the work of those receiving the prizes. It will be hosted again by San Diego’s three main universities: UCSD, SDSU and USD as it was this past March.
Among this year’s laureates is computer scientist Dr. Alan Curtis Kay, 64, of Los Angeles, a senior fellow at Hewlett-Packard Co., who maintains a San Diego office. His prize is for advanced technology for creating the concept of personal computing and contributing to its realization. He envisioned a computer to support the intellectual endeavors of individuals and began work on a personal computer at the end of the 1960s. In the early 1970s, he unveiled his concept for the Dynabook, a portable PC that could be connected to a wireless network and be used freely by anyone.
Other recipients of this year’s Kyoto Prizes are geneticist Dr. Alfred G. Knudson Jr., 81, of Philadelphia, a senior member of Fox Chase Cancer Center, for the basic sciences award; and philosopher Dr. Jürgen Habermas, 74, of Starnberg, Germany, a professor emeritus at University of Frankfurt and permanent visiting professor at Northwestern University, honored in arts and philosophy.
The Kyoto Prizes are given each year by the nonprofit foundation, founded by Inamori. He also is the founder and chairman emeritus of the Kyocera Corp., which has its North American headquarters in San Diego where Inamori also is a part-time resident.
Each laureate will receive a diploma, a Kyoto prize medal of 20-karat gold, and a cash gift of 50 million yen (equal to about $450,000) at the Kyoto Prize ceremony in Japan on Nov. 10. Considered among the world’s leading awards for lifetime achievement, the Kyoto Prize recognizes significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual development of mankind.
The Inamori Foundation was established in 1984. The Kyoto Prize was founded in 1985. The prizes have been awarded to 63 laureates from 12 nations. The United States has produced the most recipients, with 27 laureates, followed by the United Kingdom with nine, Japan with eight and France with seven.
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