KYOTO — A British computer scientist, a Swiss developmental biologist and a French philosopher will receive the 2000 Kyoto Prize in recognition of their contributions to mankind's scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment, it was announced Friday.
This year's winner in the field of advanced technology is Charles Hoare, 66, professor emeritus at Oxford University. His contributions include his theory on the definition and design of programming languages, known as Hoare's Logic, which the foundation called a "monumental accomplishment in the history of software science."
The basic sciences prize will go to Walter Jacob Gehring, 61, professor of cell biology at the University of Basel. He discovered the homeobox and its conserved development mechanisms, a specific base sequence conserved within all homeotic genes.
The prize for arts and philosophy will be awarded to Paul Ricoeur, 87, professor emeritus at the University of Paris, for "an imposing construct of hermeneutic phenomenology that embraces a new concept of ethics."
Each winner will receive a gold medal and 50 million yen at a ceremony on Nov. 10. The Kyoto Prize has been awarded every year since 1985 by the Inamori Foundation to those who have made significant contributions to scientific progress and human advances.
The foundation was established in April 1984 with a 20 billion yen grant by Kazuo Inamori, founder and honorary chairman of Kyocera Corp.