Sumio Iijima, Senior Research Fellow at NEC, presented with the Prince of Asturias Award

Tokyo, June 5, 2008 - Sumio Iijima, a Senior Research Fellow at NEC Corporation, Professor at Meijo University and Director of the Nanotube Research Center at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), was named as a recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research on June 4.

The Prince of Asturias Award recognizes Sumio Iijima for research and development related to the discovery of carbon nanotubes while serving as a Research Fellow at NEC in 1991.

Carbon nanotubes are far stronger and lighter than steel, and depending on their manufacturing process, demonstrate semiconducting or metallic properties. The wide range of distinctive characteristics held by carbon nanotubes includes their exceptional thermal properties, and their primary supporting role in the development of nanotechnologies. Presently, research and product development on a global scale are being proactively advanced through the use of carbon nanotubes.

The Prince of Asturias Award is presented to individuals, institutions and organizations whose activity on the international stages of science, culture and society have made contributions to the advancement of humanity. The Prince of Asturias Foundation was established in 1980 and presents eight annual awards in the categories of Arts, Communications and Humanities, International Cooperation, Technical and Scientific Research, Literature, Social Sciences, Sports and Concord.

The award is regarded as one of the most honored cultural recognitions throughout Europe and North America. Recipients of the award are presented with a 50,000 euro monetary award and a sculpture from the artist Joan Miro.

This year’s awards will be formally presented on October 25, 2008 at a grand ceremony hosted by the Prince of Asturias in Oviedo, the capital city of Spain’s Asturias Principality.

The 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research will be awarded to Sumio Iijima (Senior Research Fellow at NEC), Shuji Nakamura (Professor at the University of California), Robert Langer (Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), George M. Whitesides (Professor at Harvard University) and Tobin Marks (Professor at Northwestern University). 2008 marks the first time where the award is presented to a Japanese recipient in the Technical and Scientific Research category.

Please see the below link for more information on the Prince of Asturias Awards.http://www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/ing/01/noticia747.html