The Saruhashi Prize (猿橋賞) is an annual prize awarded to a Japanese woman researcher in the natural sciences. The prize recognises accomplishments in research as well as the mentoring of other women scientists.

Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi retired from her position as the director of the Geochemical Research Laboratory in 1980. Her co-workers gifted her ¥5 million and she used the money to establish the Association for the Bright Future of Women Scientists in 1980. The association distributes an annual ¥300,000 prize. It is only available to scientists who are under the age of 50.

The book My Life: Twenty Japanese Women Scientists, edited by Yoshihide Kozai, includes essays by twenty of the Saruhashi Prize winners.

Recipients Name Institution YearResearch area 1 National Institute of Genetics 1981 Theoretical study of population genetics at the molecular level 2 (ja) Kwansei Gakuin University 1982 Laser Raman spectroscopy to study surface phenomena 3 (ja) Japan Women's University 1983 Microstructure and function of yeast cells 4 Keio University 1984 Theoretical study of physical properties of non-crystalline materials 5 University of Tsukuba 1985 Methodology for elucidating the logical structure of analysis 6 (ja) National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology 1986 New organic synthesis catalysts. 7 Tokyo Institute of Technology 1987 Fundamental research on electrochemical formation of thin films 8 (ja) Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute 1988 The study of mitotic cell death caused by radiation 9 (ja) Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology 1989 Microearthquakes as earthquake precursors and a probe of tectonic plate structure 10 University of Tsukuba 1990 Genetic studies of protozoan behaviour 11 (ja) Hokkaido University 1991 Development of new reactions for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals 12 (ja) National Institute for Fusion Science 1992 Atomic processes in high-temperature plasma 13 University of Tokyo 1993 Mechanism to discriminate the handedness of chiral molecules and DNA base pairs 14 Okayama University 1994 Research of the mechanism of starfish ovulation and egg maturation 15 Tokyo Institute of Technology 1995 Research of singularities in algebraic geometry 16 RIKEN 1996 Basic research of chemical reactions taking place on solid-state surfaces 17 (ja) Nagoya University 1997 The molecular mechanism of salt-tolerance in plants 18 Chiba University 1998 Study of supercritical fluid 19 (ja) Tokyo Medical University 1999 Research of the release mechanism of the neurotransmitter 20 University of Tokyo 2000 Behavior of water and trace elements in plants 21 University of Tokyo 2001 The formation and evolution of meteorites and planetary materials 22 (ja) University of Tokyo 2002 A study on flagellar movement 23 (ja) Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences 2003 The role of phospholipid metabolism in life phenomena 24 KEK 2004 Contribution to the world's highest brightness achieved in the collider KEKB 25 Tohoku University 2005 Research of discrete geometric analysis due to the crystal lattice 26 Ikue Mori Nagoya University 2006 Genetic studies of sensory and learning behaviour 27 University of Tokyo 2007 Observational study on the dynamics of cloud distribution in the tropics 28 University of Tokyo 2008 Study of the precision polymerization of a polar monomer using a metal complex catalyst 29 (ja) Keio University 2009 Mechanism of action of RNA silencing 30 (ja) Nara Institute of Science and Technology 2010 The morphogenesis of animals during embryonic development 31 Tokyo Gakugei University 2011 Asymptotic analysis of blow-up phenomena 32 University of Tokyo Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute 2012 The mechanism of ice sheet fluctuation and the past-to-future climate 33 RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science 2013 The establishment of precise calculation algorithms for quantum few-body physics and development thereof 34 (ja) 2014 Functional proteins, coined "super catalytic antibodies" (antigenase) 35 Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University 2015 Research of mechanism of cell-cell communication and stomatal development in plants 36 (ja) Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Tokyo Gakugei University 2016 Description and Systematics of the Mesozoic Reptiles 37 Hadron Space Science, Chiba University 2017 Research of ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos 38 (ja) Earthquake and Volcano Research Center, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University 2018 Study on crustal stress and pore fluid pressure governing seismicity 39 (ja) Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University 2019 The physical properties of the Heusler-type functional magnetic materials including the half-metal-type magnets 40 (ja) Department of Physics, Kyoto University 2020 Unraveling the nature of neutrino by accelerator-based long baseline neutrino experiment 41 (ja) Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology 2021 Research on the development and evolution of vertebrate limbs 42 (ja) Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology 2022 Experimental study of three-body nuclear force in nuclear physics43 (ja)Musashino Art University2023Mechanisms of solar activity variations and their impacts on climate44Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University2024Mathematical Studies of Quantum Many-Body Systems45 (ja)Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University2025Auditory processing mechanisms in the insect brain46 (ja)Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo2026Attribution Studies of Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective

See also List of general science and technology awards

References