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The 2002 Kyoto Prize
2002
11 /11 Mon
Place：Kyoto International Conference Center
The 2002 Kyoto Prize Kyoto Prize Laureates
Lecture topics
My Life and Adventures Integrating Biology and Technology
Abstract of the lecture
My scientific career has had two major thrusts: to practice leading-edge biology, and to develop technologies that breach the barriers to deciphering biological information. The integration of these two efforts has been extremely challenging. As I review my life, I see the emergence of life interests and choices that have both directly and indirectly influenced my career path: a love of the outdoors, sports, and exercise; a love of music, both playing and listening; an early appreciation of the importance of communication skills and a love of teaching; a fascination with reading and writing; the ability to think and act independently; a love of science and technology; and the leaderships skills to change the administrative structures under which science is practiced. I will discuss my early life, my educational decisions, and my early career path choices. I will discuss my past scientific accomplishments and how they logically led into my current efforts at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle to define a new approach to biology - systems biology - and a new view of medicine - predictive and preventive medicine. I will discuss the ethical, social, and legal challenges the "new biology" brings and contend that a critical part of dealing with these challenges is the scientific education of society. In this regard, the Institute for Systems Biology has major programs in K-12 science education. Finally, I will discuss what I believe is the essence of being an academic and the challenges and opportunities that lie before all of us as humans.
Lecture topics
Spaces Beyond the Space
Abstract of the lecture
Professor Gromov has completely toppled the traditional approaches in geometry, in which space and figures are the subjects of study. Although geometers before him studied the properties of individual geometrical objects, Professor Gromov proposed the innovative idea of deepening the understanding of each space by considering a family of such geometrical objects and comparing them in metric terms such as "like (close)" or "unlike (far)." This process has something in common with human relationships we understand ourselves in relation to other people such as family or friends and is called "Gromov's Synthetic Geometry." Based on this notion, Professor Gromov has made new breakthroughs in contemporary geometry, providing pivotal instructions for solving a large number of conundrums, in particular many concerning the relationship between the global structure of a space and its local properties (such as curvatures), and has thus made geometry fruitful. His ideas and methods have since continued to develop in various directions and, beyond geometry, have been applied even to analysis and algebra. In addition to establishing an entirely new geometry, Professor Gromov has been making an immeasurable impact on all the mathematical sciences, and is presently involved in bioinformatics research as well. The scope of his work continues to expand.
Lecture topics
Thinking about our Environment in the 21st Century
Abstract of the lecture
For me, the word "Kyoto" first conjures up the ancient buildings I visited during my youth. But the very next image that enters my mind is that of the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in1997 at COP3 (the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) an international agreement in which advanced industrialized nations set targets for controlling and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. After World War 2, the Japanese embraced an American-style,consumption-based civilization. They worked to build a social system based on mass production and mass consumption and achieved success. But that system also generates a massive amount of waste.It cannot continue to exist in a world that has limited resources. In recent years, industrialized countries have at last realized the contradictions inherent in a consumption-based society. I had hoped that, with the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, they would generate active proposals for the future of the global environment and announce their work to the entire world. Disappointingly, however, the protocol has failed to be ratified. Opinion has been divided among different nations because of fears that the protocol would have a dampening effect on economic activity. To my mind, however, preserving the environment in which people live is far more important than economic concerns.
