Dr. Akira Yoshino (Asahi Kasei Fellow and Fellow of the Chemical Society of Japan) and Mr. Yoshio Nishi (formerly of Sony Corp. and member of the Chemical Society of Japan) received the 2014 Charles Stark Draper Prize from the US National Academy of Engineering on February 18 at an award ceremony in Washington, DC.

The Charles Stark Draper Prize is awarded annually by the US National Academy of Engineering to people who made outstanding contributions to engineering. It has been called the Nobel Prize of Engineering. This year's prize recognized Dr. Yoshino and Mr. Nishi "for engineering the rechargeable lithium-ion battery that enables compact, lightweight mobile devices," together with co-recipients Dr. John B. Goodenough of the US and Dr. Rachid Yazami of France.