Announcement of the German Innovation Award 2016 Winners

The GIA was established in 2008 by the German Chamber of Commerce in Japan and technology-focused German companies to promote cross-sector collaboration between industry and science while fostering the creation of new and the expansion of existing German-Japanese research networks. The GIA is awarded once a year to Japan-based young scientists for outstanding research in the categories “Materials”, “Life Sciences & Healthcare”, “Energy & Industry” and “Transportation Systems & Vehicles”. This year 62 applications from affiliates of 31 different universities and other research institutions were submitted.

The award ceremony was opened by Marcus Schürmann, Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Japan. The German Ambassador to Japan Dr. Hans Carl von Werthern and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Japanese Cabinet Office Yasuyuki Sakai addressed the audience as guests of honor. The concluding remarks of the first part the ceremony and the following announcement of the awardees were made by Professor Dr. Masuo Aizawa, Counselor to the President of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Chairman of the distinguished permanent Jury of the GIA.

All four speakers stressed the importance of science collaboration between Japan and Germany in the context of global challenges, such as those highlighted by the G7 Ministers for Science and Technology in Tsukuba in May.

For the first time, video clips about the awardees and their working environment were presented during the ceremony to provide a glance at both potentials and difficulties related to the awardees’ research.

Each of the GIA winners receives 2,500,000 Yen prize money and an additional grant for a short-term research stay at a German university or another research institution in Germany.

Altogether 220 or so guests from academia, business, politics and the press attended the ceremony. The following reception provided an opportunity to the participants to exchange thoughts in a relaxed atmosphere.

The ceremony was live-streamed over the internet. The recording of the ceremony can still be accessed via the following link: german-innovation-award.jp

German Innovation Award “Gottfried Wagener Prize 2016” Winners

Category: Materials  

Dr. Han Zhang; Senior Researcher, Advanced Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials Group, C4GR, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
“Electron microscope electron source of the 5th generation”

Category: Life Sciences & Healthcare  

Prof. Dr. Motomu Endo; Associate Professor, Laboratory of Plant Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
“Tissue-specific environmental responses in plants”

Category: Energy & Industry  

Prof. Dr. Hiroko Tokoro; Associate Professor, Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Division of Materials Science,  Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba
“Development of pressure-sensitive heat storage materials using a bistable property”

Category: Transportation Systems & Vehicles  

Not awarded