Inamori Foundation Announces 2023 Kyoto Prize Laureates
For contributions to the betterment of humanity: More than $2 million in awards honor University of Hawai‘i reproductive biologist Ryuzo Yanagimachi, Princeton mathematician and physicist Elliott Lieb, and international video artist Nalini Malani
The Inamori Foundation announced the latest 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.
Complete details available at: https://www.kyotoprize.org/en
Each laureate will receive a diploma, a 20-karat gold medal, and a monetary award of 100 million yen (more than US$700,000) during the 38th annual Kyoto Prize ceremony, Nov. 10 in Japan. Laureates will subsequently convene for the 23rd annual Kyoto Prize Symposium in San Diego, Calif. in March 2024, and the Kyoto Prize at Oxford events in Oxford, UK, in May 2024.
The 2023 Kyoto Prize Laureates
Ryuzo Yanagimachi
In Advanced Technology, the 2023 Kyoto Prize laureate is reproductive biologist Ryuzo Yanagimachi, D.Sc., professor emeritus, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, who made revolutionary contributions to both obstetric medicine and mammalian embryology through his research and development of assisted reproductive technologies. In particular, Prof. Yanagimachi’s work has led to practical methods of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at a time of declining birthrates in many nations — offering new possibilities to couples who would otherwise be unable to have children. A recipient of over two dozen awards, Prof. Yanagimachi received the Pioneer Award for Embryo Transfer and Reproduction Research (2000 & 2012), and was inducted to the National Academy of Sciences in 2001. He died at age 95 in September 2023 and was posthumously awarded the Kyoto Prize.
W. Steven Ward, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Biogenesis Research will present Prof. Yanagimachi’s life and work at San Diego’s Kyoto Prize Symposium on March 13, 2024 at UC San Diego.
Elliott H. Lieb
In Basic Sciences, the 2023 Kyoto Prize laureate is mathematician and physicist Elliott Lieb, Ph.D., professor of mathematics and Higgins Professor of Physics emeritus, Princeton University. Prof. Lieb established a foundation for mathematical research in fields such as physics, chemistry, and quantum information science using many-body physics, while making significant contributions to mathematical analysis as well. Among many other applications, his research supports next-generation technologies in quantum computing which will harness the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for today’s computers. Lieb is a recipient of many global prizes including his 1992 Max Planck Medal of the German Physical Society and his 2022 APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research.
Nalini Malani
In Arts and Philosophy, the 2023 Kyoto Prize laureate is Nalini Malani, an international artist specializing in a broad range of visual genres including video, projection, painting and drawing installations. Her childhood experience as a refugee during the partition of India and Pakistan gives her art unique power to elevate the oppressed and express the voices of the voiceless, contributing to a decentralization of art. Her works have been shown worldwide, most recently in a solo exhibition that concluded June 11, 2023 at The National Gallery, London. Malani received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute (2010) and was the first non-Western artist to receive the prestigious Joan Miró Prize (2019).
