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Dr. Makoto Kobayashi, Executive Director of JSPS Wins 2008 Nobel Prize in PhysicsThis year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was given to three Japanese researchers: Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago; Dr. Makoto Kobayashi, Executive Director, JSPS; and Dr. Toshihide Maskawa, Professor, Kyoto Sangyo University. Dr. Kobayashi and Dr. Maskawa were awarded the Prize for their discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry that predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature. The fruits of this highly appraised research exerted a quantum advance in particle physics, leaving an indelible milestone in the field’s unfolding history.
Positions:
Research Associate, Kyoto University, 1972-1979 Associate Professor, KEK, 1979-1985 Professor, KEK, 1985-2003 Head of the 2nd Physic Department, KEK, 1989-2003 Director of IPNS, KEK, 2003-2006 Trustee, KEK, 2004-2006 Professor Emeritus, KEK, 2006-present IIAS Fellow, 2006-present Executive Director, JSPS, 2007-present Honors:
Nishina Memorial Prize, 1979
J. J. Sakurai Prize(APS), 1985 Prize of Japan Academy, 1985 Asahi Prize, 1995 Chunichi Culture Prize, 1995 Person of Cultural Merit, 2001 EPS High Energy and Particle Physics Prize, 2007 KEK: High Energy Accelerator Research Organization IPNS: Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies IIAS: International Institute for Advanced Studies APS: American Physical Society EPS: European Physical Society
JSPS Executive Director Dr. Makoto Kobayashi Awarded 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics By JSPS President Prof. Motoyuki Ono On behalf of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), I wish to extend our hearty congratulations to this year's Japanese researchers who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of their milestone research achievements: Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago; Dr. Makoto Kobayashi, Executive Director, JSPS; and Dr. Toshihide Maskawa, Professor, Kyoto Sangyo University, who received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Dr. Osamu Shimomura, Professor Emeritus, Boston University, who won the Prize in Chemistry. It has been six years since Japanese researchers last received a Nobel Prize in fields of science: with Dr. Masatoshi Koshiba, Honorary Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo, having won it in Physics in 2002 and Dr. Koichi Tanaka, Fellow of Shimadzu Corp., having won it the same year in Chemistry. The wonderful success of this year's four laureates engenders an uplifted spirit of confidence and aspiration among the Japanese people. In the field of Physics, Dr. Nambu discovered the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics while Drs. Kobayashi and Maskawa discovered the origin of the broken symmetry that predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature. These highly appraised achievements have set leapfrog milestones in the advancement of particle physics. In Chemistry, Dr. Shimomura was recognized for his discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP), now used to illuminate cell development and other microscopic processes in living organisms. Giving worldwide recognition to the accomplishments of Japanese scientists, this year's awards testify to the high level of Japanese research, in which our nation as a whole can take great pride. By supporting research driven by the intellectual curiosity and free ideas of researchers across a wide spectrum of basic research fields, JSPS seeks to advance scientific research in Japan while using the results achieved to contribute to human wellbeing by expanding the body of knowledge assets share among the world's peoples. |
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