The NEC C&C Foundation
- C&C Prize
- 2023 Recipients
- 2023 Prize Ceremony
- Successive Recipients of C&C Prize
- Major Awards won by Successive Recipients
- Past Prize Ceremony 2022 Prize Ceremony 2021 Prize Ceremony 2020 Prize Ceremony 2019 Prize Ceremony 2018 Prize Ceremony 2017 Prize Ceremony 2016 Prize Ceremony 2015 Prize Ceremony 2014 Prize Ceremony 2013 Prize Ceremony 2012 Prize Ceremony 2011 Prize Ceremony 2010 Prize Ceremony 2009 Prize Ceremony 2008 Prize Ceremony
NEC Head Office Building 7-1, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8001, Japan
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On November 29, 2023, the 2023 C&C Prize Ceremony was held at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo (Minato-ku, Tokyo). 78 people attended the ceremony venue (Photo 1), and 33 people watched online.
The ceremony began at 3 pm with an opening address by President Niino (Photo 2). In his remarks, he introduced the foundation's key activities and reported that the C&C Prize was celebrating its 39th year since their inception in 1985, having produced 77 groups and 122 recipients, some of whom went on to win Nobel Prizes. Next, the selection process and the two award-winning groups were announced by Dr. Hideyuki Tokuda, Chair of the Award Committee (Photo 3). Recipient Group A was awarded for "For Contributions to the Field of Quantum Information Technology, including the Development of Superconducting Qubits and Quantum Computers". Dr. Yasunobu Nakamura, Director of RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Professor at Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and Professor Tsai Jaw-Shen, Professor at Tokyo University of Science and Team Leader at RIKEN Computer Research Center were recognized. Recipient Group B was awarded for " For Major Contributions to the Development of the Python Programming Language and its Use as Open-source Software ". Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Guido van Rossum was recognized. The achievements of each recipient were then introduced. Next, the C&C Prizes were presented to the recipients: certificates, plaques, and prize money were handed out by President Niino (Photos 4, 5, 6).
Guests then offered their congratulatory remarks. Hidetaka Nishimura, Deputy Director-General, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, praised the recipients' achievements, and noted that their quantum information technology and programming language breakthroughs are essential for the realization of a digital society. He also expressed the Ministry's commitment to ensuring these efforts lead to the development of various industries and improvements in people's lives (Photo 7). In his congratulatory remarks, Dr. Hiroyuki Morikawa, President of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, shared his thoughts and memories about the recipients' accomplishments, such as the rise of quantum computing and the rapid spread of Python (Photo 8).
During the commemorative speech, the three recipients delivered speeches. Dr. Nakamura spoke about his research on superconducting quantum bits and quantum computers (Photos 9, 10). Professor Tsai spoke about his research background (Photos 11, 12). Guido van Rossum then gave a speech, presenting on the history of Python, its popularity, and formation of the Python community (Photos 13, 14).
Afterward, a cocktail party was held, where attendees offered congratulations and conversed in a friendly atmosphere (Photos 15, 16, 17). In the ceremony hall, the dilution refrigerator was displayed, which Dr. Nakamura and Professor Tsai used in their superconducting quantum bit development, which attracted attendees' interest (Photo 18).
The dinner party was attended by the recipients and guests (Photo 19). President Niino's opening address was followed by a speech and toast from Hitoshi Matsubara, Vice President of the Information Processing Society of Japan (Photos 20, 21). Dinner was served and enjoyed while conversing. At the end of the banquet, introductions, congratulatory messages, and thanks from the recipients took place (Photos 22, 23, 24). The dinner party ended at 7:45 pm in a relaxed atmosphere.