Sumio Iijima, Shuji Nakamura, Robert Langer, George M. Whitesides and Tobin Marks Prince of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research 2008

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, made up of José Luis Álvarez Margaride, Juan Luis Arsuaga, Juan Ignacio Cirac, Pedro Miguel Echenique Landiríbar, Juliana Fariña González, Antonio Fernández-Rañada, Luis Fernández-Vega Sanz, Santiago Grisolía, María del Carmen Maroto Vela, Petra Mateos, Amador Menéndez Velázquez, Rafael Nájera Morrondo, César Nombela Cano, Fernando Ortiz Maslloréns, Ana Pastor Julián, Miguel Ángel Pesquera, Eduardo Punset, José Ramón Quirós García, Julio Rodríguez Villanueva, Guillermo Suárez Fernández, Guillermo Ulacia, chaired by Enrique Moreno and with José Antonio Martínez-Álvarez as secretary, has decided unanimously to bestow the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research on five scientists acknowledged as worldwide leaders in the fields of Materials Science and Nanotechnology.

These scientists are Sumio Iijima, from Japan, and Shuji Nakamura, Robert Langer, George M. Whitesides and Tobin Marks, from the USA, who have discovered carbon nanotubes, light emitting diodes (LEDs), biomaterials that facilitate intelligent drug release and the production of tissue and organs for transplants, as well as the fabrication of nanoscale materials and the development of new plastics and recyclable materials, all of which constitute fundamental techniques for the sustainable development of the planet and the fight against poverty. Their work has contributed decisively to energy saving and the use of new sources of energy.

All these advances in basic knowledge, novel techniques and discoveries and fascinating technologies, which are leading to an unparalleled revolution, are of vital importance for the progress of Mankind.

Oviedo, 4th June 2008