On 15 May, Kyoto University awarded an honorary doctorate to Dr Akira Yoshino, honorary fellow of Asahi Kasei Corporation.
Kyoto University awards honorary doctorates to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the University's education or research, or in recognition of exceptional achievements in science or culture.
The honorary doctorate was awarded to Dr Yoshino in recognition of his significant contributions to academic culture and remarkable research achievements, including his accomplishments as a master's student at Kyoto University.
Comments from Dr Yoshino
I am delighted to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Kyoto University. Since completing my master's program at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Engineering in 1972, I have been working as a researcher in the industrial sector, and I am very happy to have added to the prestige of my alma mater by receiving the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Message from the President of Kyoto University
I am most honored to award Professor Akira Yoshino, the 2019 Nobel laureate in chemistry, with an Honorary Doctorate from Kyoto University. Since its foundation in 1897, Kyoto University has promoted a culture of academic freedom based on frank, open-minded dialogue, rooted in a spirit of self-reliance and self-respect — a culture which has empowered the University's scholars to pioneer numerous innovative academic fields. I think that Professor Yoshino's remarkable ongoing academic work exemplifies those founding philosophies, including his accomplishments as a master's student at Kyoto University, and his ground-breaking development of lithium ion batteries.
Lithium ion batteries are indispensable for the electronic devices that are ubiquitous in our daily lives, and they provide us with many benefits. They are also highly anticipated to become an important and reliable energy storage medium for environmentally friendly and sustainable clean energy in the future.
Professor Yoshino has shown us how an insatiable curiosity for the wonders of nature, the courage to venture into unknown areas without fear of failure, and an indomitable spirit are key qualities for the achievement of great scientific discovery. The path taken by Dr Yoshino to reach his accomplishments also serves to remind us that a broad range of learning and fundamental research are essential to the development of such capability.
Kyoto University is proud to be an institution that values and cultivates those qualities, and we will continue to do so for the students and scholars of the future. Professor Yoshino and his remarkable achievements serve as a fitting example of what is possible through dedication to creative scholarship and research. I offer my most sincere congratulations on the conferral of this Honorary Doctorate.
