Dr. Dennard invented DRAM. He was inspired by Dr. Jack Kilby who invented the IC. Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple and with Kliby's and Dennard's inventions combined, has us willingly carrying a computer in our pocket.
SAN DIEGO, March 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday concluded the Kyoto Prize Ceremony program which attracts the greatest minds; past, present and future. In addition to Dr. Dennard, Dr. Masatoshi Nei was awarded for Nei's Genetic Distance, a formula to measure evolutionary divergence and genetic diversity quantitatively through statistical analysis, and Dr. Cecil Taylor for his contributions to music; a playing style characterized by percussive keystrokes deconstructing rhythm patterns and repeating them.
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Among the guests were Steve Wozniak and his wife Janet. Sam Senev of Global, a sponsor of the event said, "Steve Wozniak is not just the Cofounder, but the brains behind Apple. Woz bought with his own money the first Apple to give to a school teacher which started the explosion of Apple and computers in the classroom. That move created great brand recognition for generations of buying power now stronger than ever; Apple name and technology became synonymous. He isn't about revenue, but rather the advancements the innovations bring to mankind. Woz never left Apple; he has been an employee of Apple from inception to now and continues to contribute to the success of Apple. Everyone should be lucky enough to have some personal time with Woz; the world will make a whole lot more sense."
Wozniak has not only admired the work of Dr. Dennard and his invention, Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), DRAM has been the catalyst for the success of industry giants such as Apple, IBM, SUN, Google, Samsung and alike making every technology advancement affordable. Dr. Dennard said, "As the beaver and the rabbit sat in the woods by the Hoover Dam, the beaver said to the rabbit, 'I didn't build it myself, but it's from my design'"; a joke borrowed from Dr. Jack Kilby, 1993 Kyoto Prize Laureate awarded for inventing the Integrated Circuit (IC). Dr. Kilby was also awarded the Nobel Prize in 2000.
Each Kyoto Laureate was awarded a 20-karat gold Kyoto Prize medal, 50 million yen (about US $500,000.00) in cash, Kyocera Stocks and a diploma recognizing lifelong contributions to society.
Picture, from left to right: Lily Zhou - Kyoto Prize Ceremony Committee member, Sam Senev - Chairman and CEO of Global Private Funding, Inc., Dr. Robert Dennard - Kyoto Prize Laureate, and Steve Wozniak - Cofounder of Apple and visionary.
Zhou commented how Dr. Kilby inspired Dr. Dennard. Dr. Dennard inspired Wozniak and Wozniak inspired a 17 year old Senev to start his first business. Inspiration is contagious and they individually continue to inspire many others to change the world. Kyoto Prize Scholarships were awarded this year to several students entering universities; Delaney Miller and Brianna Fernandez Fontes were awarded for Advanced Technology; Regan Pecjak and Pamela Contreras Garcia were awarded for Basic Sciences; and Priyanka Nanayakkara and Renata De La Cruz Monteon were awarded for Arts and Philosophy.
"Dr. Kazuo Inamori started the Kyoto Prize not just to recognize those who shaped our past and present, but to also mold the minds of those to come by inspiring mentorship; identifying industry icons for new generations to follow. Dr. Inamori founded Kyocera, DDI (now KDDI) and numerous other enterprises. Through the Inamori Foundation, Dr. Inamori continues to inspire and shape the world; a very kind and caring soul" said Zhou.
The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.
