Inamori Foundation Presents 23rd Annual Kyoto Prizes for Lifetime Achievements in Technology,...

Japanese Chemist, Caltech Geophysicist, and German Choreographer Recognized for Bettering Humanity

KYOTO, JAPAN -- The Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today presented its 23rd Annual Kyoto Prizes. Considered among the world's leading awards for lifetime achievement,

Each laureate received a Kyoto Prize diploma, a medal of 20-karat gold, and a cash gift of 50 million yen (approximately US$440,000) during today's prize ceremony, with workshops and lectures continuing through November 12. In addition, the laureates will convene in San Diego, Calif., March 12-14, 2008, for the seventh annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium at San Diego State University; the University of California, San Diego; and the University of San Diego.

This year's Kyoto Prize laureates are Japanese chemist Dr. Hiroo Inokuchi, a professor emeritus at both University of Tokyo and the Institute for Molecular Science (at Japan's National Institutes of Natural Sciences); U.S. geophysicist Dr. Hiroo Kanamori, professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology; and German choreographer and artistic director Pina Bausch, director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch GmbH.

Advanced Technology

The 2007 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology focuses on the field of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Hiroo Inokuchi received the award for his pioneering and fundamental contributions to organic molecular electronics.

Dr. Inokuchi has been elucidating the electronic structures of organic compounds since the late 1940s. He focused his attention on organic molecules with benzene rings1 and initiated pioneering research on electrical conductance between such molecules, demonstrating that they could serve as useful materials for electronic components. This basic research played an essential role in the development of organic electronics, and has found applications in a wide range of commercial products, including mobile phones and flat-screen TVs. Among these, the organic electroluminescent (EL) panel, characterized by high image definition on a thin, flat screen, has attracted considerable attention as a possible next-generation replacement for today's liquid-crystal display (LCD).