Masato Sagawa

Masato Sagawa 佐川眞人
Born (1943-08-03) 3 August 1943 (age 81)
Tokushima, Japan
NationalityJapanese
CitizenshipJapan
Alma materKobe University (B.A.) (M.S.) Tohoku University (Doctor Eng.)
SpouseHisako Sagawa 久子
AwardsAsahi Prize (1990)
Japan Prize (2012)
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (2022)
Scientific career
FieldsMetallurgy, Magnetic Materials, Sustainable energy

Masato Sagawa (佐川眞人; born August 3, 1943, in Tokushima, Japan) is a Japanese scientist and entrepreneur, and the inventor of the sintered permanent neodymium magnet (NdFeB). Sagawa was awarded the Japan Prize and IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for his efforts.

Career

Sagawa initially conceived and developed the sintered NdFeB when he was with Fujitsu Laboratories, where he worked from 1972 to 1982. Lacking his supervisor's support for the new magnetic compound, Sagawa resigned in 1981, joining Sumitomo Special Metals. Shortly after joining Sumitomo he had developed the NdFeB magnet. Sagawa presented the new discovery of NdFeB magnet during the Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference in November 1983 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1][2] During this same time period, John Croat from General Motors (GM) had independently discovered the same Nd2Fe14B compound.[3]

In 1988, Sagawa founded Intermetallics, a research and development company devoted to the development of neodymium magnets.[4][5][6] Sagawa founded NDFEB Corporation in 2012, where he is currently president.

Sagawa has worked on improving the NdFeB magnetic materials' magnetic properties, with over 60 patents for his work related to NdFeB.The 2022 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering was awarded to him for the discovery, development and global commercialisation of the neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) magnet.[7]  

Dr. Sagawa demonstrates how 1 gram of NdFeB magnet disc can firmly hold ~1900 grams of water bottle.

Major awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Sagawa, M.; Fujimura, S.; Togawa, N.; Yamamoto, H.; Matsuura, Y. (1984). "New material for permanent magnets on a base of Nd and Fe (invited)". Journal of Applied Physics. 55 (6): 2083–2087. doi:10.1063/1.333572.
  2. ^ Sagawa, M.; Fujimura, S.; Yamamoto, H.; Matsuura, Y.; Hiraga, K. (September 1984). "Permanent magnet materials based on the rare earth-iron-boron tetragonal compounds". IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. 20 (5): 1584–1589. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.533.8984. doi:10.1109/TMAG.1984.1063214.
  3. ^ Lucas, Jacques; Lucas, Pierre; Le Mercier, Thierry; et al. (2014). Rare Earths: Science, Technology, Production and Use. Elsevier. pp. 224–225. ISBN 978-0-444-62744-5.
  4. ^ Gutfleisch, Oliver; Willard, Matthew A.; Brück, Ekkes; Chen, Christina H.; Sankar, S. G.; Liu, J. Ping (15 February 2011). "Magnetic Materials and Devices for the 21st Century: Stronger, Lighter, and More Energy Efficient". Advanced Materials. 23 (7): 821–842. doi:10.1002/adma.201002180. PMID 21294168.
  5. ^ a b "Achievement : Developing the world's highest performing Nd-Fe-B type permanent magnet and contributing to energy conservation" (PDF). The Japan Prize Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Changing the EV and the World with the Motor". Mitsubishi Corp. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering honours magnet pioneer". BBC News. 1 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Laureates of the Japan Prize: Masato Sagawa, Dr. Eng". The Japan Prize Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b 大同特殊鋼株式会社プレスリリース　佐川眞人顧問が「NIMS Award 2018」を受賞しました 2018年8月25日閲覧
  10. ^ "Masato Sagawa Winner of the Fray Award - FLOGEN Stars Outreach".
  11. ^ "2022 IEEE Medal & Recognition Recipients 6.IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies".
  12. ^ "Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering honours magnet pioneer". BBC News. 1 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Press Releases| HONDA FOUNDATION". www.hondafoundation.jp. Retrieved 16 November 2023.