YEREVAN — The 15th award ceremony for the Republic of Armenia’s State Award for Global Contribution to High Technologies took place today.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Vahagn Khachaturyan, representatives of the legislative and executive branches, and other guests attended the event.
PM Pashinyan presented the award to Japanese scientist Yoshiaki Damon Hagiwara—founder of the AIPLAB consortium and president of the LOCOMTEC AIPS Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Partner Systems.
During the ceremony, the Prime Minister delivered a speech, stating:
“First, I would like to thank you for your contribution to the global technology sector and congratulate you on being awarded the Republic of Armenia’s State Prize in the field of high technologies. This award is important because, through it, Armenia—as a state—pays tribute to individuals who have had a tangible impact on shaping modern life. In some sense, this is also our way of participating in those global processes, something we highly value.
Of course, the visit of such prominent figures to Armenia and their interaction with our students, business community, and tech sector is a significant and additional stimulus for the development of high technologies in our country. This award also helps us validate and assess the accuracy of our strategic visions in the fields of technology and education—a point I want to particularly emphasize.”
Pashinyan highlighted a common trend he has observed in conversations with past award recipients:
“They all reflect on their school years when speaking about their careers, which shows the crucial role of schools regardless of one’s later path. The fact that all our guests recall a small episode from their school days even after achieving great success underscores how essential educational infrastructure is in a country. For our government, this is an absolute priority. We are implementing serious programs in preschool education, general education, higher education, postgraduate studies, and the fields of science and technology.”
The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude to Yoshiaki Damon Hagiwara for his willingness to share his experience with students and to maintain ongoing communication in the future.
In closing, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated:
“Esteemed Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, allow me, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, to once again express our respect and appreciation to Mr. Yoshiaki Hagiwara, the 15th laureate of the State Award for Global Contribution to High Technologies.”
Mr. Hagiwara thanked the Government of Armenia for the honor and recognition. In his remarks, the renowned scientist emphasized the importance of developing the high-tech sector and consistently implementing educational programs.
About Dr. Yoshiaki Damon Hagiwara:
Dr. Yoshiaki Damon Hagiwara is the founder of the AIPLAB consortium and president of the LOCOMTEC AIPS Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Partner Systems. He is a Life Fellow of IEEE, a member of AAIA, and a distinguished alumnus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a focus in Physics from Caltech in 1975. From 1975 to 2008, during his tenure at Sony, he contributed to the early development of image sensors and digital camera chipsets, including ADC, DRAM, high-speed cache SRAM buffer chips, microcontroller chips, and high-performance real-time processors. In 1992, he was a member of the JEDEC memory standardization committee and chaired the IEC TC47 Technical Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission.
Mr. Hagiwara has also served as Chair of the International Program Committee and a member of the Operations Committee for the ICMTS and ISSCC conferences sponsored by IEEE EDS and SSCS. He was also Chair of the ISSCC Asia Committee and a leader of its International Technical Program Committee.
He has held visiting professor roles at Caltech’s Departments of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Gunma University in Kiryu (Japan), and was a full-time professor at Sojo University in Kumamoto, Japan. Currently, he serves as a specially appointed professor in the Office of the President at Sojo University.
In 2008, Dr. Hagiwara founded AIPLAB and has served as president of the AIPS Laboratory ever since. He continues to lead the LOCOMTEC AIPS Lab in Atsugi, Japan, developing AI-based robotic solutions for clean energy and sustainable development goals (SDGs).
He has served as Chair of the Educational Committee of the Semiconductor Specialists International Society (SSIS) and remains an active member. He is an honorary alumnus of Caltech, a member of AAIA, and a Life Fellow of IEEE. He is also affiliated with IEEE EDS, SSCS, CS, the Superconductivity Council, Nanotechnology Council, Sensors Council, and Systems Council.
