2024 Kyoto Prize recipients announced

This prestigious international award honours individuals who have made significant contributions to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual advancement of humanity.

Each laureate will receive a diploma, the Kyoto Prize medal (20K gold), and prize money of 100 million yen (approximately €596,500). This year's laureates are:

Advanced Technology:
John Pendry, Professor of Theoretical Solid State Physics at Imperial College London, has theoretically demonstrated that materials with electromagnetic properties not found in nature, such as negative-refractive-index materials (metamaterials), can be realised by designing microstructures smaller than the wavelength of the target electromagnetic waves. This has paved the way for innovative materials like “superlenses” with subwavelength resolution and “invisibility cloaks”.

Basic Sciences:
Paul F. Hoffman, Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria and Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, Emeritus at Harvard University, has made groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of snowball Earth and plate tectonics in Earth's early history, leading to the current surface environment teeming with diverse life. His work is based on geological evidence gathered over 50 years of meticulous field research in Arctic Canada and Africa.

Arts and Philosophy:
William Forsythe, a choreographer, has radically questioned and deconstructed the structure and style of traditional ballet to create new methodologies and aesthetics of theatrical dance. He continues to transcend the conventional concept of choreography, extending the potential of the art form through various innovative works.