• 27 Feb 2012

Japan is Honored for Leading Global Research in Seven Emerging Areas

Tokyo, JAPAN, February 23, 2012 — Sixteen leading scientists based in Japan were recognized for their influential contribution to global research on seven emerging research areas (known as research fronts) during the third Thomson Reuters Japan Research Day & Research Front Awards 2012 presentation ceremony held at Akasaka Business Tower in Tokyo. Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for professionals and businesses, honored these scientists from Japan as being at the forefront of seven research fronts spanning chemistry, geosciences, materials science and plant sciences.

The 16 awardees were presented with the accolade  after their research was analyzed using Thomson Reuters Research Front Methodology to assess their level of influence on specific scientific fields and Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge® data. Nobel Physics Laureate Dr. Leo Esaki, president of Yokohama College of Pharmacy and chairman of the Science & Technology Promotion Foundation of Ibaraki, was the keynote speaker at the award presentation.

Research Front Methodology looks at patterns of intense communication between scientists and is based on the top 1 percent of the most highly cited research papers in each of 22 disciplines in Essential Science Indicators (ESI)*from Thomson Reuters. 

Research Front Methodology has been employed by the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) since 2004. NISTEP continues to monitor emerging scientific areas and technology fields using this methodology with their Science Map (NISTEP Report) report. The same methodology was also used by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) on their new R&D portal site, J-GLOBAL foresight in December 2011.

Said Mr. Masaki Nagao, managing director, Japan, Thomson Reuters, “Japan continues to be an important contributor to global research. These seven research fronts, newly emerged in the past five years, represent milestones in Japan’s continuous influence on R&D.”

Here are seven research fronts where Japanese scientists have had the greatest world-class influence:

Chemistry
• Dr. Katsuhiro Maeda, Associate Professor, School of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University
For his contribution to the development of Functional Polymers Based on Controlled Helical Structure

Geosciences
• Dr. Shigenori Maruyama, Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Dr. M. Santosh, Professor, Faculty of Science, Kochi University
For their contribution to the development of Supercontinent Columbia which was reconstructed at 1.9Ga on Earth in relation to North China Craton

Materials Science
• Dr. Yoshio Bando, Fellow, National Institute of Materials Science/Chief Operating Officer (COO), International Center for Materials Nanoarchitetonics
• Dr. Dmitri Golberg, Nanotube Unit Director,International Center for Materials Nanoarchitetonics, National Institute of Materials Science/Adjunct Professor, University of Tsukuba
For their contribution to the development of Novel Syntheses of One Dimensional Inorganic Nanomaterials and their Applications 

Plant Sciences
• Dr. Kohki Akiyama, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University
• Dr. Junko Kyozuka, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
• Dr. Hideo Hayashi, Professor in Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Osaka Prefecture University
• Dr. Shinjiro Yamaguchi, Professor of Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University/RIKEN Plant Science Center Team Leader
• Dr. Koichi Yoneyama, Professor and Director, Weed Science Center, Utsunomiya University
For their contribution to progress in strigolactone research by the discovery of its new function as a plant hormone 

Chemistry
• Dr. Masahiro Miura, Professor, Osaka University
• Dr. Tetsuya Sato, Associate Professor, Osaka University
For their contribution to research to the development of New Methods for Oxidative Coupling through C–H bond Cleavage

Chemistry
• Dr. Makoto Fujita, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry School of Engineering,
The University of Tokyo
• Dr. Michito Yoshizawa, Associate Professor, Chemical Resources Laboratory,
Tokyo Institute of Technology
For their contribution to pioneering the use of self-assembly to engineer the nanoscopic structures, spaces, and functions

Chemistry
• Dr. Qiang Xu, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
• Dr. Hiroshi Shioyama, Senior Researcher of Research Institute for Ubiquitous Energy Devices, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
For their contribution to the development of liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage materials using metaI nanocatalysts

A total of 6,762 research fronts worldwide were surveyed from the Research Front database from 2006-2011. To identify the Japan Research Front awardees, research fronts were measured by both 1) 20 percent or more of the core papers were by researchers from Japanese institutions, and 2) one or more Hot Papers carried at last one author affiliation with a Japanese institution. Hot papers are a subset of Highly Cited Papers and are all less than two years old. A paper is selected as a Hot Paper if it meets a citation-frequency threshold determined for its field ad bimonthly group. Based on these criteria, seven  research fronts were identified.  Based on the findings by Thomson Reuters, seven research fronts were identified with participation by Japanese researchers who authored core papers at a level approximately three times or greater than expected (Japan contributed about seven percent of the literature indexed by Thomson Reuters during the period).

The Awards ceremony is part of a series of Asia Pacific Research Days hosted by Thomson Reuters. These events recognize research excellence in countries and regions demonstrating they are leading the world through innovation in their respective fields. Japan held its first two research days in 2004 and 2007. Similar events have also been held in Australia, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and India.

Said Mr. Nagao, “At Thomson Reuters, we are strongly committed to supporting the R&D community in Japan in its efforts to accelerate research and scientific discovery, and fostering international collaboration. Our robust methodology has helped to identify the fields where Japan researchers are making significant contributions worldwide.”

The press release in Japanese is available at  http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.jp/press/release/2012/rf2012/

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Pamela Lim
Thomson Reuters, Asia
+65 6870 3212
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