Tokyo, June 5th, 2008 - Sumio Iijima, a Senior
Research Fellow at NEC Corporation,
Professor at Meijo University and Director of the Nanotube Research
Center at
the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST),
was named as a recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical
and
Scientific Research on June 4.
The Prince of Asturias Award recognizes Sumio Iijima for research and
developmentrelated to the discovery of carbon nanotubes while serving
as a Research Fellow
at NEC in 1991.
Carbon nanotubes are far stronger and lighter than steel, and depending
on theirmanufacturing process, demonstrate semiconducting or metallic
properties.
The wide range of distinctive characteristics held by carbon nanotubes
includes
their exceptional thermal properties, and their primary supporting role
in the
development of nanotechnologies. Presently, research and product
development on a
global scale are being proactively advanced through the use of carbon
nanotubes.
The Prince of Asturias Award is presented to individuals, institutions
andorganizations whose activity on the international stages of science,
culture and
society have made contributions to the advancement of humanity. The
Prince of
Asturias Foundation was established in 1980 and presents eight annual
awards in
the categories of Arts, Communications and Humanities, International
Cooperation,
Technical and Scientific Research, Literature, Social Sciences, Sports
and Concord.
The award is regarded as one of the most honored cultural recognitions
throughout
Europe and North America. Recipients of the award are presented with a
50,000 euro
monetary award and a sculpture from the artist Joan Miro.
This year’s awards will be formally presented on October 25,
2008 at a grandceremony hosted by the Prince of Asturias in Oviedo, the
capital city of Spain’s
Asturias Principality.
The 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
will beawarded to Sumio Iijima (Senior Research Fellow at NEC), Shuji
Nakamura (Professor
at the University of California), Robert Langer (Professor at the
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology), George M. Whitesides (Professor at Harvard
University)
and Tobin Marks (Professor at Northwestern University). 2008 marks the
first time
where the award is presented to a Japanese recipient in the Technical
and Scientific
Research category.
Please see the below link for more information on the Prince of
Asturias
Awards.www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org
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