The Kyoto Prize is an international award to honour those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of humankind. The awards are held annually in November in Kyoto, Japan. The Laureates travel to Oxford in the following May for the Kyoto Prize at Oxford, hosted by the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.
The Blavatnik School of Government and the Inamori Foundation find a shared purpose in inspiring, educating and connecting individuals who strive for the greater good of society.
Watch the 2019 Kyoto Prize Laureates' lectures on YouTube.
Laureates
Andrew Chi-Chih Yao
Andrew Chi-Chih Yao created new trends in computer science and made a great contribution to cutting-edge research in various areas, especially in security, secure computing, and quantum computation through establishing innovative fundamental theories for computation and communication. His achievements are continuing to influence current real-world problems such as security, secure computing, and big data processing.
Kyoto Prize award category: Advanced Technology (Information Science)
Robert G Roeder
Robert G Roeder has revealed the principle of the regulatory mechanism of transcription in eukaryotes through his over 50 years of transcriptional research, by identifying functions of a series of factors such as three distinct RNA polymerases, basic transcription factors, one of the first gene-specific factors, and regulators in transcription from chromatin. Through his achievements, he has made significant contributions to develop present life science.
Kyoto Prize award category: Basic Sciences (Life Sciences – Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Neurobiology）
Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour has revolutionised the conventional view of science by treating nature, humans, laboratory equipment, and other entities as equal actors, and describing technoscience as the hybrid network of these actors. His philosophy re-examines “modernity” based on the dualism of nature and society. He has a large influence across disciplines, with his multifaceted activities that include proposals regarding global environmental issues.
Kyoto Prize award category: Arts and Philosophy (Thoughts and Ethics)
Multimedia
Watch a preview of Ching Tang's Kyoto prize at Oxford 2021 lecture.
Watch a preview of James Gunn's Kyoto Prize at Oxford 2021 lecture.
Highlights from the Kyoto Prize at Oxford, hosted for the third year at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford on 14 and 15 May.
