The Saruhashi Prize (猿橋賞) is an annual prize awarded to a Japanese woman researcher in the natural sciences. The prize recognises accomplishments in research as well as the mentoring of other women scientists.
Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi retired from her position as the director of the Geochemical Research Laboratory in 1980. Her co-workers gifted her ¥5 million[1] and she used the money to establish the Association for the Bright Future of Women Scientists in 1980.[2] The association distributes an annual ¥300,000 prize. It is only available to scientists who are under the age of 50.
The book My Life: Twenty Japanese Women Scientists, edited by Yoshihide Kozai, includes essays by twenty of the Saruhashi Prize winners.
| Name | Institution | Year | Research area | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1981 | Theoretical study of population genetics at the molecular level | |||
| 2 | (ja) | 1982 | Laser Raman spectroscopy to study surface phenomena | ||
| 3 | 1983 | Microstructure and function of yeast cells | |||
| 4 | 1984 | Theoretical study of physical properties of non-crystalline materials | |||
| 5 | 1985 | Methodology for elucidating the logical structure of analysis[3] | |||
| 6 | 1986 | New organic synthesis catalysts. | |||
| 7 | 1987 | Fundamental research on electrochemical formation of thin films | |||
| 8 | Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute | 1988 | The study of mitotic cell death caused by radiation[4] | ||
| 9 | 1989 | Microearthquakes as earthquake precursors and a probe of tectonic plate structure | |||
| 10 | 1990 | Genetic studies of protozoan behaviour | |||
| 11 | 1991 | Development of new reactions for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals | |||
| 12 | (ja) | 1992 | Atomic processes in high-temperature plasma | ||
| 13 | 1993 | Mechanism to discriminate the handedness of chiral molecules and DNA base pairs | |||
| 14 | 1994 | Research of the mechanism of starfish ovulation and egg maturation | |||
| 15 | 1995 | Research of singularities in algebraic geometry | |||
| 16 | 1996 | Basic research of chemical reactions taking place on solid-state surfaces | |||
| 17 | (ja) | 1997 | The molecular mechanism of salt-tolerance in plants | ||
| 18 | 1998 | Study of supercritical fluid | |||
| 19 | 1999 | Research of the release mechanism of the neurotransmitter | |||
| 20 | 2000 | Behavior of water and trace elements in plants | |||
| 21 | 2001 | The formation and evolution of meteorites and planetary materials | |||
| 22 | 2002 | A study on flagellar movement | |||
| 23 | 2003 | The role of phospholipid metabolism in life phenomena | |||
| 24 | 2004 | Contribution to the world's highest brightness achieved in the collider KEKB | |||
| 25 | 2005 | Research of discrete geometric analysis due to the crystal lattice | |||
| 26 | 2006 | Genetic studies of sensory and learning behaviour | |||
| 27 | 2007 | Observational study on the dynamics of cloud distribution in the tropics | |||
| 28 | 2008 | Study of the precision polymerization of a polar monomer using a metal complex catalyst | |||
| 29 | (ja) | 2009 | Mechanism of action of RNA silencing | ||
| 30 | 2010 | The morphogenesis of animals during embryonic development[5] | |||
| 31 | 2011 | Asymptotic analysis of blow-up phenomena | |||
| 32 | University of Tokyo Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute | 2012 | The mechanism of ice sheet fluctuation and the past-to-future climate | ||
| 33 | RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science | 2013 | The establishment of precise calculation algorithms for quantum few-body physics and development thereof | ||
| 34 | 2014 | Functional proteins, coined "super catalytic antibodies" (antigenase)[6] | |||
| 35 | 2015 | Research of mechanism of cell-cell communication and stomatal development in plants[7] | |||
| 36 | (ja) | 2016 | Description and Systematics of the Mesozoic Reptiles[8] | ||
| 37 | 2017 | Research of ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos[9] | |||
| 38 | (ja) | 2018 | Study on crustal stress and pore fluid pressure governing seismicity[10] [11] | ||
| 39 | (ja) | 2019 | The physical properties of the Heusler-type functional magnetic materials including the half-metal-type magnets[12] | ||
| 40 | (ja) | 2020 | Unraveling the nature of neutrino by accelerator-based long baseline neutrino experiment | ||
| 41 | (ja) | 2021 | Research on the development and evolution of vertebrate limbs | ||
| 42 | Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology | 2022 | Experimental study of three-body nuclear force in nuclear physics | ||
| 43 | Hiroko Miyahara | Musashino Art University | 2023 | Mechanisms of solar activity variations and their impacts on climate[13] | |
| 44 | Yoshiko Ogata | Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University | 2024 | Mathematical Studies of Quantum Many-Body Systems[14] |