The 10th Kyoto University-Inamori Foundation Joint Kyoto Prize Symposium

The 10th Kyoto University-Inamori Foundation Joint Kyoto Prize Symposium (KUIP), was held at the JP TOWER Hall & Conference on February 3. The symposium was attended by 232 participants, including high school students, researchers, and members of the general public.

This latest edition of the symposium, which was launched in 2014, was held under the theme of “Future World Shaped by Materials Science,” and featured three lecturers:

The lectures discussed the usefulness and value of energy-saving semiconductors, the history of memory media and spintronics applications, and the manufacturing of automobiles from plant-derived materials. The latest materials science research was widely discussed from engineering, science, and agriculture perspectives.

After the lectures, science writer YOSHINARI Mayumi served as the moderator for a panel discussion featuring the three speakers. The discussions began by asking the question “What is materials science?” and providing an overview of historic materials science discoveries. The topic then shifted to the lecturers’ own reasons for pursuing materials science, and a discussion of the ways in which materials science might help shape the world in the future. The panelists demonstrated a good deal of humor, frequently raising laughter from the audience, and it provided a good opportunity for the audience to become more familiar with materials science and researchers.

Audience feedback included the following comments:

“I listened with great interest. It was a memorable event that helped me realize how serendipity can also play a role in the course of passionate, determined research.”

“For someone like me who only has previous knowledge of metallic materials, this topic was very new to me. I found it very interesting and was able to relate materials science to my current life.”