San Diego’s 13th Annual Kyoto Prize Symposium to Feature Digital Information Storage Innovator, Pioneering Evolutionary Biologist and Jazz Visionary March 17-19

The Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Symposium Organization today released additional details of the 13th annual Kyoto Prize Symposium, March 17-19, 2014, in San Diego. Honoring the most recent winners of Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, the Kyoto Prize Symposium includes a private benefit gala highlighting the laureates’ lifetime achievements, followed by free presentations by the laureates that are open to the public March 18-19. Free transportation to Symposium events at San Diego State University (SDSU), University of California San Diego (UCSD) and University of San Diego (USD) is available to high school groups through the online registration form.

Dr. Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of QUALCOMM, will continue his role as honorary chairman of the symposium, which begins with media interviews by appointment at Point Loma Nazarene University on Monday, March 17, followed by a benefit gala and opening ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel. Mr. Masashi Oka, president and CEO of Union Bank, reprises his role as chair. Tickets for the gala, “The Kyoto Prize: Celebrating Outstanding Lifetime Achievement,” are available for $300.

Proceeds from the gala will be used to fund educational opportunities, including six Kyoto Prize Scholarships valued at $10,000 each for outstanding high school seniors from San Diego and Tijuana. These scholars, who have drawn inspiration from the Kyoto Prize laureates, will be recognized during the gala in the categories of Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts & Philosophy, mirroring the categories of the Kyoto Prize.

“Once again we’re honored to welcome the prestigious Kyoto Prize to San Diego,” said David C. Doyle, chair of the Kyoto Symposium Organization and partner at Morrison Foerster. “Our opening gala promises to be an unforgettable evening, with performances in tribute to the Kyoto Prize laureates and inspirational greetings from the laureates themselves. I am sure the audience will be deeply impacted by these distinguished honorees, and by our scholarship recipients ― tomorrow’s achievers ― who will address the audience as well.”

Lecture presentations by the 29th Kyoto Prize Laureates will include:

Tuesday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. PDT, SDSU’s Montezuma Hall Aztec Student Union
Advanced Technology (Field: Electronics) - IBM Fellow Dr. Robert Heath Dennard, 81, invented the basic structure of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), which is now extensively utilized as an integrated circuit (IC) memory system. His innovations have immensely increased the capacity of digital information storage, leading to dramatic progress in information technology and telecommunications. Dr. Dennard and his colleagues also proposed guidelines called “scaling theory” to miniaturize field-effect transistors, which play key roles in most ICs, including DRAMs, thereby promoting unprecedented advances in semiconductor technology.

Tuesday, March 18, 3:30 p.m. PDT, UCSD’s Price Center, West Ballroom
Basic Sciences (Field: Biological Sciences) - Pennsylvania State University Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Masatoshi Nei, 83, made it possible to discuss evolutionary divergence and genetic diversity in a quantitative manner by devising diverse statistical methods such as Nei’s Genetic Distance, and applying them to molecular data. Using these methods, Dr. Nei’s research has yielded important contributions to molecular evolutionary biology — as well as many other academic disciplines, including ecology and conservation biology — while facilitating a better understanding of the evolutionary mechanism of genes, such as positive selection.

Wednesday, March 19, 10:30 a.m. PDT, USD’s Shiley Theatre
Arts and Philosophy (Field: Music) – Musician and composer Cecil Taylor, 84, is perhaps the most original pianist in the world of jazz and improvised music. He developed his innovative style of improvisation by departing from conventional idioms through distinctive musical constructions and percussive renditions, dramatically expanding the range of expression. His unsurpassed virtuosity and strong will inject an intense, vital force into his music, which has exerted a profound influence on a broad range of musical genres. PLEASE NOTE: The main auditorium is sold out, but overflow seating is available on a limited basis.

For more information visit www.kyotoprizeusa.org/.

The Kyoto Prize
The Kyoto Prize is presented each year by Japan’s non-profit Inamori Foundation to individuals and groups worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the betterment of society, in “Advanced Technology,” “Basic Sciences,” and “Arts and Philosophy.” The prize consists of academic honors, a gold medal, and a cash gift of 50 million yen (about $500,000) per category, making it Japan’s highest private award for global achievement.

The Inamori Foundation
The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in Kyoto, Japan, in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, a humanitarian and founder of both Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) and KDDI Corporation. Dr. Inamori created the Kyoto Prize in reflection of his belief that human beings have no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that mankind’s future can be assured only when there is a balance between science, technology and the human spirit.

The Kyoto Symposium Organization
The Kyoto Symposium Organization is a San Diego-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization established to support the Kyoto Prize Symposium and Kyoto Scholarship programs with co-hosts San Diego State University; University of San Diego; University of California, San Diego; and Point Loma Nazarene University.