August 30, 2017
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Hirosi Ooguri, Principal Investigator of the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) and Fred Kavli Professor at Caltech, has been elected to the Japan Writers’ Association.
“Literature is an art form to use language to express ideas of universal interest. I am honored and delighted that my efforts in making scientific research more accessible to the general public have been recognized by the association in literary arts. I will work harder to make scientific discoveries that would merit such expressions,” said Ooguri.
The Japan Writers’ Association was established in 1926, following a merger between the Novelists’ Association and the Playwrights’ Association. The Founding Chair was Kan Kikuchi, a well-known writer and founder of the major publishing company Bungei-Shunju. Though the association was disbanded during World War II, it was re-established in 1946 as a professional organization to promote literature, protect freedom of expression, and support writers. Its membership consists of writers, playwrights, critics, essayists, translators, and poets.
Ooguri has written several popular science books, including “Introduction to Superstring Theory,” which received the 2014 Kodansha Prize for Science Books, the most prestigious prize for science books in Japan.
Ooguri was nominated to the Association by its Vice Chair, Masahiro Mita and Board Member, Masahiko Murakami, and was inducted on June 23.
Books by Hirosi Ooguri
- “Landscape of Elementary Particles” by Hirosi Ooguri (April 2012, Sugakuboshobo)
- “What is Gravity?” by Hirosi Ooguri (May 2012, Gentosha)
- “Strong Force and Weak Force” by Hirosi Ooguri (January 2013, Gentosha)
- “Introduction to Superstring Theory” by Hirosi Ooguri (August 2013, Kodansha)
- “The World as seen in the Language of Mathematics” by Hirosi Ooguri (March 2015, Gentosha)
- “Pursuit of Truth” by Hirosi Ooguri and Shizuka Sasaki (November 2016, Gentosha)
Related Links
Japan Writers’ Association website (Japanese only)
http://www.bungeika.or.jp/index.htm
Hirosi Ooguri’s website
https://ooguri.caltech.edu/
Related News
Science Book Prize awarded to Hirosi Ooguri