Former Nagoya University Assistant Professor Kazuo Shinozaki, currently Director of the Center for Sustainable Resource Science at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, has been selected to receive the 2016 Persons of Cultural Merit Award, according to an announcement by the Japanese government on October 28, 2016.
At Nagoya University, Dr. Shinozaki completed his Doctoral Course at the Graduate School of Science in 1977, and became a Research Associate of the School of Science in 1983 and an Assistant Professor of the Center for Gene Research in 1986.
The Persons of Cultural Merit Award, one of the nation's highest honors second only to the Order of Cultural Merit Award, is awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to the development and enrichment of culture in Japan. Dr. Shinozaki, who specializes in plant molecular biology, elucidated plants' environmental stress responses and discovered resistant mechanisms at the molecular level.
The award ceremony for the Persons of Cultural Merit will be held in Tokyo on November 4, 2016.