Laureates of the 1996 Kyoto Prizes
Advanced Technology
Field Selected: Information Science
Dr. Donald Ervin Knuth
(U.S.A.)(b.1938)
Computer scientist
Professor, Stanford University
A computer scientist who has made innumerable contributions
to the development of 20th century information sciences through
research and education. In addition to systematizing the field
of software science and creating foundations which comprise it,
Dr. Donald Ervin Knuth has achieved great results in a broad
spectrum of research ranging from the basics of algorithm
analysis to designing programming languages and developing
information processing technology for practical application in
computers.
Basic Sciences
Fields Selected: Life Sciences (Molecular Biology, Cell Biology,
Neurobiology)
Dr. Mario Renato Capecchi
(U.S.A.)(b.1937)
Molecular geneticist
Professor, University of Utah
A molecular geneticist who developed "gene targeting"
technique, which is widely used around the world today. With his
success on breeding mice in which targeted genes were
inactivated, referred to as“knock-out”mice, Dr. Mario Renato
Capecchi established a new avenue for researching how genes work.
His method of research has benefited immensely such branches of
life sciences as biology, medicine and agriculture.
Creative Arts and Moral Sciences
Field Selected: Philosophy
Dr. Willard Van Orman Quine
(U.S.A)(b.1908)
Philosopher
Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Developing countless sensational arguments filled with
insight covering fields from epistemology to philosophy of
language and science, Dr. Willard Van Orman Quine has created a
new paradigm of philosophy for the second half of the 20th
century.