Chapter3: Materials, information technology, communications and electronics for creating new civilizations

摘要

Tohoku University scientists are internationally acknowledged for inventions that have spawned new industries and paradigms. Some well known accomplishments are the Yagi-Uda antenna, proposed by Hidetsugu Yagi and realized by Shintaro Uda; and the divided anode type magnetron invented by Kinjiro Okabe. Fujio Masuoka, who invented the flash memory device, is also a Tohoku University graduate and is now continuing research as a professor at Tohoku University's Research Institute of Electrical Communication. More recently, Koichi Tanaka, who received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for development of the soft laser desorption ionization method for mass spectrometric analysis of proteins IFetlow ofShimadzu Corporation, General Manager of Koichi Tanaka Mass Spectroscopy Research Laboratory! is a graduate of Tohoku University's School of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering. A closer look at these inventions shows that fundamental understanding of materials was vital for their development. Synthesis and exploitation of materials can prompt powerful changes in society leading to the creation of new civilizations. This section highlights how scientists at Tohoku University have contributed to a deeper insight into the properties of metals and related materials and their use for the development of innovative devices and concepts.