NAGOYA UNIVERSITY
Originally established as a temporary hospital and medical school in 1871, Nagoya University (NU) has actively evolved and adapted to meet changing societal needs. Transformed into Nagoya Imperial University in 1939, then into Nagoya University in 1947, NU is now one of Japan’s National University Corporations, which were established in 2004 to increase the National Universities’ financial and operating autonomy.
World Class Research Activities
Nagoya University (NU) has been recognized its world class research activities. To name a few of its many achievements:
Discovery of the origin of the Broken Symmetry which predicts the existence of at least "three families of quarks in nature" by Dr. Makoto Kobayashi and Dr. Toshihide Maskawa, Nobel Prize laureates in Physics 2008.
Understanding symmetry, or the lack of it, is an ongoing task in elementary particle physics. Dr. Kobayashi and Dr. Masukawa explained broken symmetry within the framework of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. They formulated a model that explained certain symmetry violations. Their model suggested that the collection of subatomic particles known at the time were insufficient to explain the observed behaviors, and predicted the existence of as yet undiscovered elementary particles. They hypothesized the existence of a third family of quarks. They waited for a long time for these predicted, hypothetical new quarks to appear in physics experiments.
Discovery and Development of the Green Fluorescent Protein, GFP by Dr. Osamu Shimomura, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry 2008.
While studying a glowing jellyfish, Dr. Shimomura isolated a bioluminescent protein that gave off blue light. Further studies revealed that the protein’s blue light was absorbed by a second jellyfish protein, later called green fluorescent protein (GFP), which in turn re-emitted green light. The ability of GFP to process blue light to green was found to be integral to its structure, occurring without the need for any accompanying factors. By using DNA technology, GFP can now be connected to other interesting, but otherwise invisible proteins. This glowing marker allows researchers to watch the movements, positions and interactions of the targeted proteins.
Asymmetric Synthesis by Professor Ryoji Noyori, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry 2001.
Organic compounds have two different types whose stereostructures are in a similar relationship as that of the right and left hands. A selective synthesis method was established for substances of right hand and left hands systems by using molecular catalysis made from combinations of metals and chiral organic compounds.
Blue Light Emitting Diode by Professor Isamu Akasaki
High performance Blue LED was produced by using a compound semiconductor GaN (gallium nitride). The GaN semiconductor is used for illuminant and expected to be used for high-speed, high-output transistors indispensable for the next generation ICT.
