Yesterday, Grant Willson and Jean Fréchet received the Japan Prize. (Grant must have travel to Japan quickly, since he was at a party at my house on Saturday night.) When I saw the reports this morning, I have to admit that my first question was “What’s the Japan Prize?” Willson and Fréchet have received many awards in their careers. Was this one any different?

In a word, “Yes!” First of all, Drs. Willson and Fréchet were handed their award by the Emperor of Japan. Second, the award comes with ¥50M (that’s about $650,000), split between the two of them. Either one of these would make one stand up and take note. Here is a description of the prize from the Japan Prize website:

“The Japan Prize is a prestigious international award presented to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements are not only scientifically impressive, but have also served to promote peace and prosperity for all mankind. The Prize is awarded by the Japan Prize Foundation. Since its inception in 1985, the Foundation has awarded 74 people from 13 countries. Each year the Foundation designates two fields for award presentation.”

Willson and Fréchet were honored for their invention of chemically amplified photoresists, a material instrumental in the manufacture of every state-of-the-art integrated circuit for the last 20 years. (A third collaborator, Hiroshi Ito, died in 2009.)

Congratulations to Grant and Jean – a prize well deserved!