Renowned mathematician László Lovász to receive Inamori Foundation’s 26th annual Kyoto Prize for Lifetime Achievement in “Basic Sciences”

KYOTO, JAPAN — June 18, 2010 — The non-profit Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today announced that Dr. László Lovász will receive its 26th annual Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, which for 2010 focuses on the field of Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Lovász, 62, a citizen of both Hungary and the United States, will receive the award for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of both the academic and technological possibilities of the mathematical sciences.Dr. Lovász currently serves as both director of the Mathematical Institute at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and as president of the International Mathematics Union. Among many positions held throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Lovasz also served as a senior research member at Microsoft Research Center and as a professor of computer science at Yale University.

Dr. Lovász’s Work

Dr. Lovász is considered to be one of the world’s preeminent contemporary mathematicians. He has provided a link among numerous branches of mathematics through his advanced research on discrete structures. Many of Dr. Lovász’s concrete research results are presented in the form of elucidated properties of graphs and their algorithmic designs. However, his methodologies go beyond the framework of graph theory to exert significant influence on a broad spectrum of mathematical sciences, including discrete mathematics, combinational optimization and theoretical computer science.

Dr. Lovász has solved several outstanding problems including the “weak perfect graph conjecture,” a well-known open problem in graph theory, and the famous and long-standing open problem on Shannon capacity in the field of information theory. In this work he introduced quadratic forms to express discrete structures. It has served as the very first instance of semidefinite programming, which went on to become one of the central topics in mathematical optimization. By further advancing those pioneering achievements he played a role in developing the geometric methodology of algorithms based on the ellipsoid method, which led to the solution of a major open problem on submodular function minimization. His contributions are significant in clarifying the deeper relationship between computation theory and optimization theory.

However, he is perhaps best known for the widely used Lovász local lemma, in which he provides a fundamental probabilistic tool for the analysis of discrete structures, and contributes to the creation of a framework for probabilistically checkable proofs. The basis algorithm, commonly known as the “LLL algorithm,” has also contributed to the construction of important algorithms and has become a fundamental tool in the theory of cryptography.

Other 2010 Kyoto Prize Laureates

In addition to Dr. Lovász, this year’s Kyoto Prize laureates include:

In “Advanced Technology:" Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, 47, a medical scientist, senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco; professor at Kyoto University; and director of CiRA, Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, who pioneered a technology for producing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells without the use of embryos; and

In “Arts and Philosophy:" Mr. William Kentridge, 55, a visual artist from Johannesburg, South Africa, whose wide-ranging activities encompass animation, stage direction and writing.

About the Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Prize

As Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, the Kyoto Prize honors significant contributions to the betterment of society. Each Kyoto Prize laureate will be presented with a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize medal, and a cash gift totaling 50 million yen (approximately US$550,000) during a week of ceremonies beginning November 9, 2010, in Kyoto. The laureates will reconvene in San Diego, Calif., April 4-6, 2011, for the tenth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium.

The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera and KDDI Corporation. The Kyoto Prize was founded in 1985, in line with Dr. Inamori’s belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and our spiritual depth. An emblematic feature of the Kyoto Prize is that it is presented not only in recognition of outstanding achievements, but also in honor of the excellent personal characteristics that have shaped those achievements. The laureates are selected through a strict and impartial process considering candidates recommended from around the world. As of the 25th Kyoto Prize ceremony (November 10, 2009), the Kyoto Prize has been awarded to 81 individuals and one foundation -- collectively representing 13 nations. Individual laureates range from scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians and film directors. The United States has produced the most recipients (33), followed by Japan (13), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8).