Hiroshi Matsumoto, 25th President of Kyoto University
As president of Kyoto University I would like to express my hearty congratulations to Dr. Alan Kay upon being awarded the twelfth honorary doctorate of Kyoto University. On behalf of the university I would like to say that we greatly appreciate your attending this ceremony.
Kyoto University awards honorary doctorate recognizing two categories of contribution.The first category is eminent contribution to the advancement of education and research at the university. And the second category is outstanding contribution to advancement of science and culture. It is the fourth honorary doctorate awarded by Kyoto University since revision of rules for honorary doctorate. The honorary doctorate awarded to Dr. Alan Kay is the first one with recognition of his great contribution to the advancement of education and research at Kyoto University as well as his outstanding contribution to science and culture.
I know many key persons have made great effort to prepare today's ceremony. Without devoted effort of Dr. Shinji Tomita, Dean of the Graduate School of Informatics, this honorary doctorate award would not have been possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to the faculty members of the Department of Social Informatics who made collaboration with Dr. Alan Kay in education and research in Kyoto University, and made numerous arrangement to invite many of today's important attendees.
I also have to remember the late Professor Yahiko Kambayashi of the Graduate School of Informatics. With his enthusiastic produce of inviting Dr. Kay to Kyoto, collaboration between Japan and U.S, was realized and it made great contribution to the both countries, computer science, and education. We are very proud of their activity that has encouraged young people from school children to graduate students, as well as young scientists, engineers and school teachers in creative use of information technology. Personally, Prof. Kambayashi one of my best friends and was a classmate when I was a student in the Department of Electronics, and even shared the same laboratory of Prof. Maeda for bachelor thesis work. He joint a group of computer science while I joint space science group. I am here with deep emotion that the tie between Dr. Kay and Kyoto University was not bound without this common friend.
Dr. Kay has been highly devoted to the long-running study of personal computing and object oriented programming since the late 1960s. Dr. Kay proposed the concept of a small handheld computer named the Dynabook. It has given us innovative vision of computing for all the people, and the object oriented programming support current software development with drastic improvement of productivity Both of these two concepts are two of the most important inventions in computer science. Dr. Kay has also devoted himself to the education of children using computer with enthusiasm. He participates in worldwide educational activities in elementary schools and other educational institutions with development of an programming environment called "Squeak" for the education of children.
Computer science and informatics are new disciplines born in the 20th century, and extending its filed to various interdisciplinary studies as Dr. Kay devotes himself to the field of education. I sincerely hope that the awarding of this honorary doctorate to Dr. Kay will contribute to successful integration among the science fields of Kyoto University, and will inspire the university's young researchers and students to even greater efforts in their work.
Kyoto University states its mission as being to sustain and develop its historical commitment to academic freedom, and to pursue harmonious coexistence within human and ecological community on this planet. I believe that information technology is one of the key issue in achieving our mission, and we can learn more from Dr. Kay's vision and activity. I sincerely hope that there will be opportunities for further cooperation. I fully resonate with Dr. Kay's view that future is not to be simply for seen but to be created by our hands and will.
Finally I would like to wish Dr. Kay continuing success and happiness, and I'd like to thank you all for attending the ceremony today.
Thank you very much.