China awarded the 2012 Friendship Award to Prof. Shin-ichi Kurokawa, professor emeritus at KEK, on September 28, 2012. This award is the

Shin-ichi Kurokawa receives the Friendship Award from State councillor Ma Kai at the ceremony held in Beijing

highest honour that the Chinese government confers to foreign experts for their contribution and dedication to China’s economic construction and social development.On 28 September, the awards ceremony for the 2012 Friendship Award of China was held at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing.

Launched in 1991, the Friendship Award of China expresses China’s gratitude to awardees and rewards their outstanding achievements and dedication to China’s development and construction in the fields of economy, technology, education and culture as well as fostering talents. Up to this year, a total of 1249 experts from 65 countries have won the Friendship Award of China.

Prof. Kurokawa is a world-famous particle accelerator expert. He took charge of the KEK Accelerator Laboratory in 2001 and has played an important role in the design, construction and operation of several KEK accelerators, including the KEK B-factory.

Kurokawa has been fostering a cooperative relationship in accelerator science between China and Japan for a long time. Last January, he was given the award for International Scientific Cooperation by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which honours eminent foreign experts who make outstanding contributions to facilitating cooperation with the CAS in science and technology.

Prof. Zhang Chuang, Former Deputy Director of IHEP, commented: “For a long time, Professor Kurokawa has dedicated himself to promoting Sino-Japanese cooperation on accelerator science and technology as well as ILC research in China, and his tireless efforts helped build a sturdy bridge of understanding and friendship between the two sides. Now he has been given the Friendship award, which shows our gratitude and acknowledges his contribution from the level of our government. He really deserved this award.”

“I am filled with deep emotion that I received this year’s Friendship Award during the current difficult situation between China and Japan,” he said. “As a scientist, I believe that our community is responsible for continuing to promote and deepen the collaborative relationship between two countries. I am quite confident that this collaboration will grow further based on the strong foothold we have built.”

From Sept. 25 to 26, Prof. Kurokawa visited the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) and had a pleasant talk with his old friends at IHEP.