15 Nagoya University Professors Receive FY2017 MEXT Science and Technology Award

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has announced the recipients of its FY2017 Ministerial Awards for Science and Technology, including 15 researchers from Nagoya University (five for the Science and Technology Prize, and 10 for the Young Scientist Prize).

These prizes are awarded to researchers who have achieved significant advances in research, development, and promotion of public understanding for science and technology, with the aim of strengthening the motivation of researchers in the field and contributing to improvements in Japan’s level of science and technology. Awards are bestowed for the categories of Science and Technology (further categorized to "Development," "Research," "Science and Technology Promotion," "Technology," and "Public Understanding Promotion"), Young Scientist, Creativity, and Schools for Nurturing Creativity.

The award ceremony will be held at MEXT on April 19 (Wed), 2017.

Recipients of the Prize for Science and Technology

1) Category: Development

Name: Yuichi Masubuchi

Position: Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Achievement: Advanced tire development through the collaboration of SPring-8, J-PARC, and K Computer technologies

2) Category: Research

Name: Kazuaki Ishihara

Position: Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Achievement: Invention of high functioning catalysts based on acid-base complex chemistry

3) Category: Research

Name: Michiko Kusunoki

Position: Professor, Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability

Achievement: Research on the invention of new nano-carbon structures using carbide surface decomposition and its physical properties

4) Category: Research

Name: Eiji Shamoto

Position: Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Achievement: Research for the advancement of machine processing

5) Category: Public Understanding

Name: Masayuki Takemura

Position: Professor, Endowed Research Division, Disaster Mitigation Research Center

Achievement: Advancement of scientific understanding of seismic disasters through research on the Great Kanto earthquake

Recipients of the Young Scientists’ Prize

1) Name: Kohsuke Ohmatsu

Position: Designated Associate Professor, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules

Achievement: Research on the development of innovative molecular catalyst utilizing ion-pair properties

2) Name: Fumitaka Osakada

Position: Associate Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Achievement: Research on stem cell control and neural circuit analysis aiming at attaining eyesight restoration

3) Name: Hiromu Kashida

Position: Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Achievement: Research on the development of functional artificial nucleic acid using acyclic frameworks

4) Name: Ryo Tabata

Position: Designated Assistant Professor, PhD Professional Office

Achievement: Research on plant peptide hormones having a role in cell-to-cell and organ-to-organ communication

5) Name: Norihito Nakamichi

Position: Designated Associate Professor, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules

Achievement: Research on transcriptional regulatory network regarding biological rhythms in plants

6) Name: Kiichi Niitsu

Position: Lecturer, Graduate School of Engineering

Achievement: Research on the design of low-power, low-voltage integrated circuits and its medical applications

7) Name: Yu Matsuda

Position: Associate Professor, Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability

Achievement: Research on the development and high accuracy of advanced thermal fluid measurements using phosphorescent molecules

8) Name: Fusa Miyake

Position: Associate Professor, Institute for Space and Earth Environmental Research

Achievement: Research on past annual cosmic ray events using cosmic-ray-produced nuclide

9) Name: Tomoya Yamaguchi

Position: Associate Professor, Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University (Former Designated Lecturer, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University)

Nominated by Nagoya University

Achievement: Research on the clarification of lineage-specific survival signal transmission system for lung adenocarcinoma

10) Name: Takayuki Yamashita

Position: Associate Professor, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Achievement: Research on the sensory information processing mechanism in the central nervous system