KYOTO, Japan - (Business Wire) The Inamori Foundation (non-profit; President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today presented its 25th annual Kyoto Prize in “Basic Sciences” to Dr. Peter Grant and Dr. Rosemary Grant. The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, honoring significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of humankind. Today’s ceremony marked the 25th anniversary of the Kyoto Prize – a major milestone in the history of the award, which is presented annually in three categories: Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy. The laureates received a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize medal, and a cash gift totaling 50 million yen (approximately US$550,000) per prize category.
For 2009, the Kyoto Prize in the category of “Basic Sciences” focuses on the field of Biological Sciences (Evolution, Behavior, Ecology, Environment). Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant received the award for documenting rapid evolution caused by natural selection in response to environmental change.
Dr. Peter Grant (citizenship: Canada and UK; permanent U.S. resident; b. 1936) and Dr. Rosemary Grant (citizenship: UK; permanent U.S. resident; b. 1936) are both professors emeriti at Princeton University and the first husband-and-wife team to receive the Kyoto Prize. Over more than 35 years of field study on the Galápagos Islands, the Grants have demonstrated that natural selection allows the morphology and behavior of Darwin’s finches to change rapidly in response to environmental fluctuations.
Their most significant achievements involve detailed study of ground finches (genus Geospiza). The Grants have revealed how beak size and shape evolve through natural selection within a dramatically changing environment, according to certain mechanisms and conditions. They were the first to trace evolution closely as it actually occurs in the field, and first to study, in detail, all aspects relating to the observed evolutionary changes — such as the ecological factors responsible for natural selection; evolutionary responses; directions in which many traits evolve; and mechanisms that maintain the genetic variation necessary for evolutionary change. The Grants’ empirical research has made the most important contribution since Darwin toward making evolutionary biology a science in which proof is possible.
Drs. Grant are two of four 2009 Kyoto Prize recipients. The others include:
- In “Advanced Technology,” Dr. Isamu Akasaki, 80, a semiconductor scientist, university professor at Nagoya University and professor at Meijo University in Japan.
- In “Arts and Philosophy,” Maestro Pierre Boulez, 84, an internationally renowned composer, conductor and honorary director of the Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music (IRCAM) in France.
The laureates will reconvene in San Diego, Calif., April 20-22, 2010, for the ninth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium at San Diego State University; University of California, San Diego; and University of San Diego. For three days, the symposium will allow an international audience to learn about the latest Kyoto Prize laureates and participate in one-of-a-kind public presentations not seen anywhere else in the world.
About the Inamori Foundation
The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) and KDDI Corporation. The Kyoto Prize was founded in 1985, in line with Dr. Inamori’s belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and our spiritual depth. An emblematic feature of the Kyoto Prize is that it is presented not only in recognition of outstanding achievements, but also in honor of the excellent personal characteristics that have shaped those achievements. The laureates are selected through a strict and impartial process considering candidates recommended from around the world. As of November 10, 2009, the Kyoto Prize has been awarded to 81 individuals and one group – collectively representing 13 nations, and ranging from scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians and film directors. The United States has produced the most recipients (33), followed by Japan (13), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8).
For more information and/or photos, visit: www.kyotoprize.org.
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