Special honorary titles are awarded to graduates of Nagoya University’s undergraduate or graduate programs, or university faculty members (current or former) who have received the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, Order of Cultural Merit, Person of Cultural Merit designation, or equivalent awards or recognitions that honor achievements in research and educational activities.
Takuetsu distinguished professor system
The Takuetsu distinguished professor system is a title created to serve as a symbol for enhancing the university’s research capabilities and to expand and develop research fields. It enables high salary settings for Takuetsu distinguished professors and aims to recruit young rising stars who have achieved world-class outstanding achievements in their specialized fields and are expected to significantly enhance the university’s honor and research capabilities through further advancement of their research.
Professor Hiroshi Amano
Received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. Since receiving the award, he has continued to lead research as the overall leader of the GaN comprehensive research project and director of the Integrated Research Center for Future Electronics at Nagoya University’s Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability. He has also devoted efforts to establishing a state-of-the-art clean room specialized in GaN (Energy Conversion Electronics Experimental Facility) that is unparalleled globally as a shared-use facility.
He continues to achieve outstanding results, including the development of the world’s shortest wavelength deep ultraviolet laser diode and the realization of impact ionization avalanche transit-time effect (IMPATT) diodes that oscillate in the 10GHz band. He is an indispensable figure in Japan’s semiconductor research.
Professor Yusuke Yamauchi
His research field focuses on the creation and application of materials and substances with controlled nanospace. By developing unique material processes, he synthesizes nanospace materials that combine characteristics such as high specific surface area, high catalytic activity, and electrical conductivity, while working to solve various SDG challenges including energy storage and material-energy conversion.
His indicators such as citation counts, top 10% and top 1% ratios, and research funding acquisition records are extremely remarkable, and he is expected to play a central role in forming a global hub in this field.
Distinguished professors
1. Ryoji Noyori
Born 1938. Completed master’s degree at Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering. Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1972. Received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on “asymmetric hydrogenation reactions using chiral catalysts.” Director of Center for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science and Technology Agency.
2. Isamu Akasaki
Born 1929. Graduated from Kyoto University School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Engineering from 1981. Received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for the “invention of efficient blue LEDs that enabled bright, energy-saving white light sources.” Professor Emeritus at Meijo University. (Deceased)
3. Osamu Shimomura
Born 1928. Graduated from Nagasaki Medical University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Associate Professor at Nagoya University School of Science Affiliated Water Quality Research Facility from 1963. Received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the “discovery and development of GFP.” Professor Emeritus at Boston University. (Deceased)
4. Toshihide Maskawa
Born 1940. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for the “discovery of the origin of CP symmetry breaking.” Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University and Kyoto Sangyo University. Honorary Director of Nagoya University’s Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe. (Deceased)
5. Makoto Kobayashi
Born 1944. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for the “discovery of the origin of CP symmetry breaking.” Distinguished Professor at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization. Honorary Director of Nagoya University’s Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe.
6. Masahiro Sugiura
Born 1936. Withdrew from doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1982. Successfully decoded the chloroplast genome, contributing to the development of genome science. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Professor Emeritus at Nagoya City University.
7. Masatoshi Takeichi
Born 1943. Completed master’s degree at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Known for the discovery of cell adhesion molecule cadherin. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Recipient of Japan Prize. Team Leader at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research.
8. Yoshito Kishi
Born 1937. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Associate Professor at Nagoya University School of Agriculture from 1969. Developed artificial synthesis methods for complex natural products, contributing to synthetic chemistry. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. (Deceased)
9. Koji Nakanishi
Born 1925. Completed advanced special research student program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Associate Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1955. Developed analytical methods for structural determination of natural organic compounds. Recipient of Order of Cultural Merit. Professor Emeritus at Columbia University. (Deceased)
10. Yuichi Shionoya
Born 1932. Graduated from Nagoya University School of Economics. Leading authority in economic philosophy and economic thought research. Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University after serving as its president. Held positions including Director of National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. (Deceased)
11. Shigefumi Mori
Born 1951. Completed master’s degree at Kyoto University Graduate School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1988. Renowned for solving the Hartshorne conjecture and minimal model theory of algebraic varieties. Recipient of Fields Medal and designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Recipient of Order of Cultural Merit.
12. Yasuo Tanaka
Born 1931. Graduated from Osaka University Department of Physics. Associate Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1962. Promoted development of X-ray astronomy observation equipment and satellites. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Professor Emeritus at University of Tokyo and Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. (Deceased)
13. Kazuo Koike
Born 1932. Completed doctoral coursework at University of Tokyo Graduate School of Social Sciences. Professor at Nagoya University School of Economics from 1978. Leading authority in labor economics and human resource management theory. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Professor Emeritus at Hosei University. (Deceased)
14. Hiroshi Amano
Born 1960. Completed doctoral coursework at Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering. Received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Professor Emeritus Isamu Akasaki. Director and Professor at Nagoya University Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Integrated Research Center for Future Electronics.
15. Tsuneko Okazaki
Born 1933. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1983. Elucidated the universal principle of DNA replication through short-chain DNA “Okazaki fragments.” Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Recipient of Order of Cultural Merit.
16. Kazuo Shinozaki
Born 1949. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Associate Professor at Nagoya University Gene Research Facility from 1986. Pioneered the elucidation of plant environmental stress responses and tolerance acquisition mechanisms. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Group Director at RIKEN Functional Development Research Group. Elected as foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
17. Hisashi Yamamoto
Born 1943. Completed doctoral program in Chemistry at Harvard University Graduate School. Professor at Nagoya University School of Engineering from 1983. Renowned for research on development of new reactions and functional expression based on precise molecular design of molecular acid catalysts. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. Director of Molecular Catalysis Research Center and General Research Institute at Chubu University.
18. Yoshio Okamoto
Born 1941. Completed doctoral program at Osaka University Graduate School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Engineering from 1990. Leading authority in precision synthesis of helical polymers, making significant contributions to the development and practical application of ultra-efficient pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Recipient of Japan Prize. Visiting Professor at Harbin Engineering University, China.
19. Takao Kondo
Born 1948. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School of Science. Professor at Nagoya University School of Science from 1995. Pioneered cutting-edge research on the approximately 24-hour timing mechanism (circadian clock) that organisms possess, contributing to the development of the Japanese Society for Chronobiology. Designated as Person of Cultural Merit. (Deceased)