UC San Diego Hosts 25th Annual Kyoto Prize Symposium March 11-12
Free lectures will feature globally recognized researchers Shun-ichi Amari, Azim Surani and Carol Gilligan
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The University of California San Diego, together with Point Loma Nazarene University and the Kyoto Symposium Organization, will host the 25th Annual Kyoto Prize Symposium on March 11-12, 2026. The multi-day event on the UC San Diego campus will feature free, public lectures by three of the world’s most preeminent thinkers and researchers in the areas of ethics, artificial intelligence and life sciences.
The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for global visionaries who have made scientific and cultural advancements that benefit humankind. The 2025 Kyoto Prize laureates are Shun-ichi Amari for Advanced Technology, Azim Surani for Basic Sciences and Carol Gilligan for Arts and Philosophy. Online registration is now open for the Kyoto Prize Symposium.
The late Dr. Kazuo Inamori established the nonprofit Inamori Foundation in 1984 based on his life philosophy and founded the Kyoto Prize as its primary activity. Since the inception of San Diego’s Kyoto Prize Symposium, local events have generated more than $5 million in educational funding and college scholarships to the San Diego/Baja region. The Kyoto Symposium Organization is a San Diego-based nonprofit established to support the Kyoto Prize Symposium and Kyoto Prize Symposium Scholarship programs.
Inamori, who founded Kyocera Corporation in 1959, established San Diego-based Kyocera International, Inc., just 10 years later as his first subsidiary company outside of Japan. Today, the Kyocera Group includes nearly 300 companies and more than 79,000 employees worldwide.
Preceding the symposium talks on March 10 will be a fundraising gala to support the Kyoto Prize Symposium scholarships and youth outreach program. Please visit the Kyoto Prize website for more information and to register.
The following Kyoto Prize Symposium presentations will be held on the UC San Diego campus March 11-12:
Azim Surani
Kyoto Prize Laureate in Basic Sciences
Wednesday, March 11, 10-11:30 a.m. PDT
Qualcomm Institute Auditorium, Atkinson Hall
Note: This laureate talk will be presented on screen to the audience, followed by a live remote Q&A with Surani
Azim Surani received the Kyoto Prize for his work in demonstrating how male and female mammalian genomes receive distinct imprints during germ cell development. Genomic imprinting introduced a novel concept to Mendelian genetics and is now a fundamental principle in the life sciences.
His research has contributed to developmental biology and epigenetics, along with a wide range of life science fields including physiology, regenerative medicine, reproductive medicine and plant science.
Surani is Director of Research at the Gurdon Institute and Professor Emeritus at University of Cambridge.
Carol Gilligan
Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy
Thursday, March 12, 10-11:30 a.m. PDT
Price Center, Ballroom East
Carol Gilligan pioneered the framework known as the “ethic of care,” while revealing the distortions and limitations of conventional psychological theories pertaining to women’s thoughts and behaviors.
By offering research-based insights into women’s moral reasoning, especially in contrast to men’s moral reasoning, Gilligan showed how women are more likely than men to prioritize human connections and seek solutions that preserve relationships. She called this relationship-oriented reasoning the “ethic of care” and contrasted it with the “ethic of justice,” which often entails imposing universal principles or rights to resolve conflict. Considering how these two frameworks are intermeshed, her work offers a new academic foundation for addressing global societal challenges like women’s empowerment and the welfare of the elderly and disabled.
Gilligan is a University Professor at New York University. She previously taught at Harvard University, University of Chicago and Cambridge University.
Shun-ichi Amari
Kyoto Prize Laureate in Basic Sciences
Thursday, March 12, 1-2:50 p.m. PDT
Price Center, Ballroom East
Shun-ichi Amari is being recognized for groundbreaking contributions to neural network dynamics, learning theory and the creation of “information geometry,” which provided the mathematical foundation for development of practical algorithms. His research continues to influence the evolution of artificial intelligence.
Amari is currently a Specially Appointed Professor at Japan’s Teikyo University. He is also the former Center Director of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, where he continues to serve as an Honorary Science Advisor.
For full details and and to register, please visit: https://calendar.ucsd.edu/event/25th-kyoto-prize-symposium
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