AsianScientist (Jul. 12, 2016) – Twelve leading scientists based in Japan were recently recognized at the Japan Research Front Awards 2016 for their groundbreaking work in eight emerging research areas.
The Awards, which is in its fourth year, was organized by the Intellectual Property & Science (IP & Science) business of Thomson Reuters.
The emerging research areas, or research fronts, span materials science, physics, engineering, chemistry and neuroscience. Over 12,200 research fronts worldwide were surveyed from the Research Front database from 2010-2015. Research Front Methodology looks at patterns of intense communication between scientists. Such patterns can be used to create a picture of the state of a specific research area in terms of the papers that constitute its core of foundational work.
“Japan continues to wield its global influence as an important contributor to research & development with groundbreaking research in eight research fronts which emerged only in the past five years,” said Mr. Masaki Nagao, managing director of IP & Science Asia Pacific, Thomson Reuters.
The 12 scientists, grouped in eight research fronts, are:
- Materials Science
Dr. Kenji Watanabe, chief researcher, Electroceramics Group, Research Center for Functional Materials and Dr. Takashi Taniguchi, group leader, High Pressure Group, Research Center for Functional Materials, both from the National Institute for Materials Science, for their studies on the electronic and optical properties of graphene-hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures.
- Materials Science
Professor Chihaya Adachi, director, distinguished professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University for his research on the properties of fluorescent OLEDs and their applications.
- Physics
Associate Professor Takahiro Sagawa, Department of Applied Physics, the University of Tokyo for his studies on stochastic thermodynamics and fluctuation theorems.
- Engineering
Associate Professor Kenji Takizawa, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University for his contributions to cardiovascular fluid mechanics modeling.
- Chemistry
Professor Motomu Kanai, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the University of Tokyo; Professor Shigeki Matsunaga, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University; and Assistant Professor Tatsuhiko Yoshino, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University for their research into cobalt catalysis and C-H bonds.
- Chemistry
Professor Naoto Chatani, Graduate School of Engineering and Associate Professor Mamoru Tobisu, Graduate School of Engineering, both from Osaka University, for their research into the catalytic cross-coupling reactions of ethers.
- Neuroscience
Professor Hiromu Tanimoto, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University for his studies on reward-signaling dopamine neurons.
- Neuroscience
Dr. Hideo Kimura, director, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry for his research on hydrogen sulfide signaling.
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Source: Thomson Reuters; Photo: Shutterstock.
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