We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the second Kyoto Prize at Oxford. Following a successful inaugural event, this year the Kyoto Prize at Oxford will take place on 8 and 9 May and promises to be a fascinating combination of disciplines ranging from biophysics and plant sciences to engineering technology, and including a musical performance.

The Laureates' public lectures on Tuesday 8 May 2018 are free and open to the public. To register and for more information, visit the Kyoto Prize at Oxford website.

• Adventures across disciplines: studying biophysics, and observing the shaping of policies

Public Lecture by Dr Graham Farquhar, Laureate for Basic Sciences

With his work spanning physics, applied mathematics and plant physiology, Dr Farquhar's remarkable work on models of photosynthesis has helped understand and mitigate the effects of climate change on plants, including developing drought-resistant strains of wheat. In his lecture he will share insights from his work as a scientist as well as the contributions he has made to policy as a scientific advisor during key climate change negotiations.

• My fifty years with the transistor

Public Lecture by Dr Takashi Mimura, Laureate for Advanced Technology

From the first ever glimpse of Neptune transmitted by Voyager 2 in 1989, to the base stations used every day for our mobile phones and antennas, the High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) was instrumental in allowing broadcasting-satellite systems to spread around the world. In his fascinating talk, Dr Mimura will explore the succession of events that led him to invent the device and how this achievement changed the worlds of both information and communications technology and physics studies of electrons.

• How to win a Stalin Prize: Shostakovich's Piano Quintet

Public Lecture by Dr Richard Taruskin, 2017 Laureate for Arts and Philosophy, and a performance by the Villiers Quartet and Jeremy Young, piano

In this lecture combined with music, Dr Taruskin will focus on Shostakovich's popular Piano Quintet - supported by the University of Oxford's quartet in residence. Musicologist, critic, historian and author of landmark study The Oxford History of Western Music, Dr Taruskin has transformed contemporary perspectives on the performance and the study of music through his convention-defying historical research and essays.

Registration is open via the Kyoto Prize at Oxford website.

The Kyoto Prize is an international award to honour those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of humankind. Find out more about the partnership between the Inamori Foundation and Blavatnik School of Government.