DATE2022.04.19 #Awards & Prizes

Lecturer Akito Sakai received the 2022 Young Scientist Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.

Akito Sakai Lecturer

Dr. Akito Sakai, Lecturer in the Department of Physics, received the 2022 Young Scientist Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The awarded achievement is "Research on quantum physical properties using strongly correlated electron systems and topological magnetic materials.

The well-known Hall effect is a phenomenon in which a voltage is generated perpendicular to an electric current, and its topological nature has been clarified one after another through fundamental research. For example, the integer quantum Hall effect is understood to occur when the integral of the Berry curvature (a virtual magnetic field in wavenumber space) becomes a topological number called the Chern number. On the other hand, the Nernst effect, in which an electromotive force is generated perpendicular to the heat flow, has not been well understood and requires clarification through both experimental and theoretical approaches.

Dr. Sakai discovered that the Heusler alloy Co₂MnGa exhibits a giant anomalous Nernst effect at room temperature and clarified the importance of the topological electronic structure (Weil point) as the origin of the effect through comparison with multifaceted experiments and numerical calculations performed in collaboration. Later, they discovered the Fe₃X (X = Ga, Al) system and showed through joint research that the giant anomalous Nernst effect can be realized even in inexpensive iron-based materials.

The results of this research not only advanced our understanding of topological electronic properties, but are also expected to be used in sensors and power generation modules as innovative thermoelectric conversion technology, which will be indispensable in an energy-saving, ultra-smart society.

We would like to congratulate Dr. Sakai on this award and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.

2022 Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/mext_00989.html

(Responsibility: Professor Satoru Nakatsuji, Department of Physics)