Well-known Japanese designer Issey Miyake ” recognized for his experimentation with new techniques of garment pleating in the late 1980s ” will speak about his secret to more than 30 years of success in the fashion industry on Friday, March 16.
Miyake’s lecture is part of the sixth annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium and Gala, to be held March 14 to 16 as a celebration featuring three 2006 Kyoto Prize winners. The free forums are open to the public at all three San Diego universities.
“To bring in some of the best minds in the world to give a symposium here has added depth to the community,” said Tom Fat, event co-chairman. “To be associated as a city with such brilliant minds is good for our community now and in the future.
“It’s an honor to have this event in San Diego, and we are trying very hard to have it remain in San Diego as a permanent fixture.”
The Kyoto Prize, which is awarded annually in November by Japan’s royalty, is second only to the Nobel Prize in prestige, according to Fat.
Laureates for 2006 include Miyake, as well as Leonard Herzenberg, a biotechnology pioneer hailing from Stanford University, who invented the Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS); and Hirotugu Akaike, of Japan, honored for his statistical model breakthroughs with the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).
The idea to bring the winners to San Diego began six years ago with a friendship between Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese entrepreneur, and Alice Hayes, former president of the University of San Diego (USD), Fat said.
Since then, Fat and event co-chair Malin Burham have worked together to increase community participation with the event and were responsible for expanding the symposium locations to San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Fat said.
Burnham’s idea for the Symposium’s opening gala has helped generate additional funding to provide six graduating seniors ” three from Tijuana and three from San Diego ” with $10,000 college scholarships.
Patrick Henry senior Sarah Silverstein will be awarded a scholarship in the arts and philosophy category for her essay on Miyake’s connection between art and science.
It is important for people to learn that fashion and technology can be fused, she said.
“This award means a lot to me and I was extremely excited when I received it,” Silverstein said. “It will certainly help me pay for a college education.”
The scholarship winner said she has applied to several colleges and universities and hopes to attend an accelerated dental program and one day become an inventor.
The students are presented with the awards at the gala, held the evening of Wednesday, March 14, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, 333 West Harbor Drive. Tickets are $200 per person and registration is required.
Miyake will present from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, at USD, while Akaike will speak from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at UCSD and Herzenberg will present from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at SDSU.
Seating at each symposium is limited and registration is required.
For more information, to purchase tickets for the gala or to register for the gala or symposium, visit www.kyotoprize.org.
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