NEC C&C Foundation Awards 2012 C&C Prize to Dr. Osamu Yamada, Dr. Toru Kuroda, Mr. Masayuki Takada and Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi

*** For immediate use October 18, 2012

Tokyo, October 18, 2012 - The NEC C&C Foundation today announced that the 2012 C&C Prize will be awarded to two groups. Dr. Osamu Yamada, Dr. Toru Kuroda, and Mr. Masayuki Takada will represent Group A and Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi will represent Group B. Each recipient will be recognized with a certificate of merit and a plaque. Each group will also receive a cash award of ten million yen.

The C&C Prize was established in 1985 and is awarded to distinguished persons in recognition of outstanding contributions to R&D activities and pioneering work related to the integration of computers and communications technologies and the social impact of developments in these fields. This year's two recipient groups are outlined below.

The prize ceremony and acceptance speeches will be held on Wednesday, November 28 from 15:30 at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo.

2012 C&C Prize Recipients

Group A

Dr. Osamu Yamada, Guest Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
Dr. Toru Kuroda, Deputy Head, NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories
Mr. Masayuki Takada, Senior Research Engineer, NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories

<Citation>
For outstanding leadership in the research and development of the ISDB-T digital terrestrial television broadcasting system

<Achievement>
In December 2003, a digital terrestrial television broadcasting system called ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial) was put to practical use in Japan. Since then, this system has been deployed very rapidly thanks to a high level of interest in high-quality television pictures and in One-Seg broadcasting for cellular phones, etc. This system has many technological features, such as efficient use of radio frequency resources, high-quality audio and video, capabilities for new data broadcasting services, and broadcasting to mobile terminals. After analog terrestrial television broadcasts ended in Japan on July 24, 2011, ISDB-T technology, including mobile TV, came to be viewed around the world as a key technology for broadcasting and communications. The C&C Prize was awarded to Dr. Osamu Yamada, Dr. Toru Kuroda, and Mr. Masayuki Takada in recognition of their outstanding leadership and extremely important roles in developing and commercializing the ISDB-T system.


Group B

Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi,
	The Sherman Fairchild University Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and
		Computer Science, Princeton University
	Senior Distinguished Researcher, National Institute of Information and
		Communications Technology (NICT)

<Citation>
For pioneering and leading contributions both to the invention of high-density and highly reliable data recording technology and to the creation and development of a performance-evaluation methodology for computer and communication systems

<Achievement>
Partial response, maximum likelihood (PRML) is a signal-processing and decoding method applicable to hard disks, optical disks as well as data communication systems. Both PRML and performance-analysis technologies for computer and communication systems have been important in the advancement of information technologies. Prof. Kobayashi made significant contributions to the invention and development of the fundamental principles behind them by creating innovative methodologies utilizing advanced communication theory and mathematics. The C&C Prize was awarded to Prof. Kobayashi in recognition of the exceptional contributions his work makes to the development of today's computer and networking field.


See the attachments for profiles of the recipients:
Attachment 1: Profile of the Group A Recipient of the 2012 C&C Prize
Attachment 2: Profile of the Group B Recipient of the 2012 C&C Prize