The NEC C&C Foundation

2025 Recipients of C&C Prize

The recipients of the 2025 C&C Prize were selected as shown below.

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Group A

 Group A Detailed Description

Group A: QR Code Team

Masahiro Hara Chief Engineer, DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED Specially Appointed Professor, Nagoya Gakuin University	Motoaki Watabe R&D Division, DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED
Takahiro Kurobe Executive Director, DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED	Hiromitsu Takai Expert, Solution Services Department, GS1 Japan

Citation

For the invention, practical implementation, and global spread of QR Code

Achievement(summary)

In the 1980s, barcodes (one-dimensional codes) were widely used in manufacturing, logistics, retail and other fields for identification, tracking, and managing items. However, as the number of parts managed at manufacturing sites increased during 1990s, the limited data storage capacity of conventional barcodes became a problem. QR Code (two-dimensional code), invented in 1994, addressed this challenge by enabling dramatically greater data capacity with fast, accurate scanning. Today, QR Codes are used in a wide range of fields—including distribution, manufacturing, payment, mobile authentication, and ticket management—and are contributing significantly to the digitalization and efficiency of both society and industry.  

Group B

>> Group B Detailed Description

Jack Joseph Dongarra Emeritus Professor, EECS Department, University of Tennessee Turing Fellow in the Mathematics Department, The University of Manchester

Citation

For Contributions to High-Performance Scientific Computing and Its Applications.

Achievement(summary)

From the 1970s to the 1990s, the performance of computers improved dramatically, and simulations and analytical processing using computers became increasingly widespread. As hardware rapidly advanced, the development of high-performance software that matched these capabilities became essential. In particular, efficient and reusable numerical computation libraries were indispensable. Jack Dongarra made significant contributions to the development of these numerical libraries such as LINPACK, and the launch of the TOP500 project, which ranks computer performance. He also played a key role in advancing high-performance computing (HPC) technologies. Moreover, through the development of the Message Passing Interface (MPI), he worked to propagate distributed computing technologies. These efforts greatly contributed to the advancement and foundation of high-performance scientific computing and its applications.