Science for survival

摘要

Yoshinori Tokura has a passion for skyrmions, which sounds a bit fantastical. A skyrmion is only about 20 nanometres in diameter, but it consists of thousands of spins that form a vortex in a material - "like a typhoon," as Tokura puts it. "Once created, a skyrmion cannot be easily destroyed," he says. "It can flow freely, acting as a high-energy particle."For Tokura, who directs the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), skyrmions are a perfect example of an emergent entity, forming a topologically defined, independent object whose characteristics altogether surpass those of its component parts. They are a discovery of fundamental research and yet promise to lead to real-world applications - more efficient memory devices. They also represent the ideal that RIKEN is pursuing with success: the marriage of curiosity-driven basic research with potentially game-changing applications in areas of critical importance for our global future. CEMS and the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), both established in 2013, have been tasked with finding radical solutions to some of the world's most pressingproblems, including energy supply and environmental protection. That bar has been set even higher since April, when RIKEN entered a new era under the leadership of President Hiroshi Matsumoto.