DATE2023.04.07 #Awards & Prizes

Professor Hirofumi Sakai of Institute for Photon Science and Technology/Department of Physics Receives Awards ‘The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology’

Professor Hirofumi Sakai

Professor Hirofumi Sakai of Institute for Photon Science and Technology/Department of Physics has received Awards for Science and Technology (Research Category) as ‘The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology’ in 2023. The award-winning achievement is "Research on Orientation Control Techniques of Gas Molecules Using Intense Laser Electric Fields”.

If gas molecules, which are usually oriented randomly, can be aligned and oriented, it is possible to directly clarify the alignment and orientation dependence of various phenomena that occur in the interaction between laser light and molecules. Since aligned and oriented molecular ensembles are ideal research samples for stereodynamics of chemical reactions and electronic stereodynamics in molecules, the development of versatile methods that can achieve high degrees of alignment and orientation has long been desired. Professor Sakai has consistently conducted world-leading researches on orientation control of gas molecules. Starting with one-dimensional orientation control, he has recently developed an orientation control technique that satisfies the three conditions of high degrees of orientation, laser-field-free condition, and three-dimensional orientation control. Furthermore, he has been working on the advancement of all-optical orientation control using only nonresonant two-color laser electric fields. The realization of such well oriented molecular ensembles is a research achievement with great impact, as it is expected to broaden the scope of fundamental research on molecular behavior, advance research on the dynamics of chemical reactions, and develop applications to molecular devices. We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Professor Sakai and wish him continued success in his endeavors.

The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in 2023
https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/mext_01224.html (Japanese)

(Written by Director General/Professor Norikatsu Mio, Institute for Photon Science and Technology)

This page was created based on the results of machine translation (DeepL).