分子科学研究所

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About IMS

Former director generals

First

AKAMATU, Hideo (The term of office: 1975.4.22-1981.3.31)(d. 1988)

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He has reported a group of organic compounds with electrical conductivity for the first time. Organic compounds had been regarded as insulators since ancient times, but he overturned this common sense and established the concept of "organic semiconductors". He is a pioneer of research on carbon in Japan, and has also played a pioneering role in hydrogen energy research.


1935 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo Imperial University
1942 Ph. D., University of Tokyo
1951 Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo
1971 Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University
19751981 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science

Awards

1957 The Chemical Society of Japan Award
1965 Japan Academy Prize

Second

NAGAKURA, Saburo (1981.4.1-1987.3.31) (d. 2020)

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He has proposed the theories of intramolecular charge distribution, charge transfer in chemical reactions, and charge transfer by hydrogen bonding based on the molecular orbital theory. He proved them experimentally. In particular, he succeeded in experimentally confirming intermolecular charge-transfer complexes. The concept of charge transfer gives a significant impact on organic and inorganic reaction theories.


1943 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo Imperial University
1953 Ph. D., University of Tokyo
1959 Professor, The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo
19811987 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science
1985 President, Okazaki National Research Institute
1988 President, SOKENDAI
20012007 President, The Japan Academy

Awards

1971 The Asahi Prize
1978 Japan Academy Prize
1985 Person of Cultural Merit
1990 Order of Culture
1995 Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
1996 Neil 100th Anniversary Medal
1997 Jaroslav Heyrovsky gold medal from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences

Third

INOKUCHI, Hiroo (1987.4.1-1993.3.31) (d. 2014)

head_3.png He has discovered organic compounds with high electrical conductivity for the first time, although the organic compounds had been regarded as insulators. He also proposed the concept of organic semiconductors and made significant achievements in pioneering research on molecular electronics. He provided the important foundations for the current development of molecular electronics and organic EL materials.


1948 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo
1956 Ph. D., The University of Tokyo
1959 Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo
1960 Associate Professor, The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo
1967 Professor, The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo
1975 Professor, Institute for Molecular Science
19871993 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science
1993 President, Okazaki National Research Institute
1996 Vice Director, International Institute for Advanced Studies

Awards

1965 Japan Academy Prize
1978 The Chemical Society of Japan Award
1989 Fujihara Award
1994 Person of Cultural Merit
2001 Order of Culture
2007 Kyoto Prize

Fourth

ITO, Mitsuo (1993.4.1-1999.3.31) (d. 2019)

head_4.png He has made significant achievements in the fields of molecular spectroscopy and the study of electronic and vibrational states of molecules.


1951 Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Kyushu University
1951 Research Associate, School of Science, Kyushu University
1966 Associate Professor, The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo
1970 Professor, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University
1992 Professor Emeritus, Tohoku University
19931999 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science
1999 President, Okazaki National Research Institute

Awards

1988 The Chemical Society of Japan Award
1989 The Spectroscopical Society of Japan Award
1997 Medal with Purple Ribbon
2004 The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star

Fifth

KAYA, Koji (1999.4.1-2004.3.31) (d. 2017)

head_5.png He has developed various research methods in laser chemistry. He contributed the studies of clusters based on intermolecular forces and chemical bonding and established a novel field of nanoscience from chemist's point of view in nanomaterials science.


1961 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo
1966 Ph. D., The University of Tokyo
1966 Researcher, RIKEN
1970 Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University
19731974 Researcher, Bell Laboratories (US)
1981 Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
19992004 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science
20042005 President, Wako Branch, RIKEN

Awards

1990 The CSJ Award for Creative Work
2001 The Chemical Society of Japan Award
2005 Person of Cultural Merit

Sixth

NAKAMURA, Hiroki (2004.4.1-2010.3.31)

head_6.png He has made significant achievements in the theoretical study of chemical reactions, which is a fundamental problem in chemistry. He specializes in the theory of chemical physics and conducts research on chemical reaction dynamics, theory of non-adiabatic transitions, characteristics and dynamics of super-excited molecules, laser control of chemical kinetics and dynamics, development of molecular functions.


1963 Bachelor, The University of Tokyo
1965 Research Associate, Department of Applied Physics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1969 Doctor of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1971 Postdoctoral fellow, The Ohio State University and University of Pittsburgh
1974 Lecturer, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1979 Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
1981 Professor, Institute for Molecular Science
20042010 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science

Awards

2000 Chunichi Cultural Award
2023 The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon

Seventh

OHMINE, Iwao (2010.4.1-2016.3.31)

head_7.jpg Water has a variety of unique properties, which are very important for life phenomena and the global environment. He has found the intermittent collective motions of water molecules and associated large fluctuations in structure and energy in water. He developed novel theoretical methods and analyzed the effects of the collective motions and the fluctuations on various chemical reactions and phase transition dynamics relevant to water. He is studying the dynamics of the "emergence of diversity in water."


1977 Ph.D., Harvard University (Chemical Physics)
1976 Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1977 JSPS Fellow
1980 Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1981 Research associate, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
1982 Associate Professor, Institute for Molecular Science
1994 Professor, School of Science, Nagoya University
1996 Professor, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
2003 Dean of Graduate School of Science and School of Science, Nagoya University (-2005.12)
2006 Provost and Vice President, Nagoya University (-2009.3)
2009 Research Leader, Fukui Institute for Fundamental Chemistry, Kyoto University
20102016 Vice President, National Institutes of Natural Sciences and Director General, Institute for Molecular Science
20132016 Executive Director, National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Awards

2003 Chunichi Cultural Award
2008 The Chemical Society of Japan Award

Eighth

KAWAI, Maki (2016.4.1-2022.3.31)

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1975 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo
1980 Ph. D., The University of Tokyo
1980 Postdoctoral Fellow, Contact Researcher, RIKEN
1982 JSPS Fellow, The University of Tokyo
1983 Assistant, Osaka Industrial Research Institute
1983 Postdoctoral Fellow, Contract Researcher, Osaka Gas Co.
1985 Researcher, Catalysis Laboratory, RIKEN
1988 TDK Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
1991 Chief Scientist, Director of Surface Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN
2004 Professor, Department of Advanced Materials Science, The University of Tokyo
2010 Executive Director, RIKEN (-2015.3)
2016 Director General, Institute for Molecular Science (-2021)
2016 Humboldt Research Award
2018 President, The Chemical Society of Japan (-2019)
2019 Executive Director, National Institutes of Natural Sciences (-2021)
2022 President, National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Awards

2009 The Chemical Society of Japan Award
2010 American Physical Society (APS) Fellow
2015 The Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award 2015
2016 Medard W. Welch Award 2016
2017 Medal with Purple Ribbon
2018 Diels-Planck-Lecture award
2019 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award
2019 Fellow of the Royal Society of ChemistryFRSC
2020 Japan Academy Prize
2021 Person of Cultural Merit

Ninth

WATANABE, Yoshihito (2022.4.1-present)

 

1976.3  Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University
1982.3  Graduate School, Division of Chemistry, University of Tsukuba
1982.4  Department of Chemistry, The Michigan University, Post-doctral fellow
1984.4  Department of Chemistry, The Michigan University, Assistant Research Scientist
1985.12 Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Research Staff Member
1987.3  School of Medicine, Keio University, Assistant Professor
1989.4  National Chemical Laboratory for Industry, Senior Researcher
1990.10 Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Associate Professor
1994.10 Institute for Molecular Science, Professor
2002.4  Professor, Graduate School of Science Division of Material Science, Nagoya University
2006.11 The Research Center for materials Science, Nagoya University, Professor
2009.4  Nagoya University, Vice-President(Research and International Planning)
2012.4  Nagoya University, Trustee (International Planning and Public Relations) / Vice-President
2019.4  Director, Nagoya University
2020.4  The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Executive Director
Award
2000 Japan Chemical Society Award for Academic Achievement
2011 Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry Award
2018 Japan Chemical Society Award

 

Professor Emeritus

IWATA, Suehiro; IWAMURA, Hiizu; URISU, Tsuneo; OHMINE, Iwao; OKAZAKI, Susumu; KITAGAWA, Teizo; KUWAJIMA, Kunihiro; KOSUGI, Nobuhiro; KOBAYASHI, Hayao; TANAKA, Koji; NAGASE, Shigeru; NAKAMURA, Hiroki; NISHI, Nobuyuki; HIRATA, Fumio; HIROTA, Eizi; YAKUSHI, Kyuya; YOSHIHARA, Keitaro; WATANABE, Yoshihito; HIRAMOTO, Masahiro

Demised:
AKAMATU, Hideo; ITO, Mitsuo; INOKUCHI, Hiroo; KAYA, Koji; KIMURA, Katsumi; NAGAKURA, Saburo; HANAZAKI, Ichiro; MARUYAMA, Yusei; MOROKUMA, Keiji; SAITO, Shuji