University of Washington Professor to Receive the 2015 Saruhashi Prize

Keiko Torii, Endowed Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Washington, has been selected to receive the 35th annual Saruhashi Prize, which recognizes one woman scientist for both exceptional research accomplishments and mentoring of other women scientists. Dr. Torii will be honored in May 23 in Japan.

The prize was established in 1981 by Katsuko Saruhashi (1920-2007), a Japanese woman who made the first precise measurements of carbon dioxide and radioactive materials in ocean water. This research led to the restricting of nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Saruhashi was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Tokyo.

Professor Torii holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in biophysics and biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. She joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1995.