Tohoku University alumnus and Distinguished Invited University Professor, Masato Sagawa, has been awarded the IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies.
He shares the honour with John J. Croat, for "contributions to the development of rare earth-iron-boron permanent magnets for use in high-efficiency motors, generators and other devices," according to a statement from IEEE.
Sagawa is one of the world's leading experts in permanent magnet materials research. He received his doctorate degree from the Graduate School of Engineering in 1972, and won the Japan Prize in 2012 for inventing and developing the highest performing sintered Nd-Fe-B (neodymium-iron-boron) permanent magnets, and contributing to energy conservation.
Sagawa's Nd-Fe-B magnets - which can be found in many everyday items such as home appliances, industrial machines, automobiles and medical equipment - help products achieve greater energy efficiency by making them smaller, lighter and capable of higher output.
In 2019, he was appointed a Tohoku University Distinguished Invited University Professor, and is currently president of NDFEB Co., Ltd.
IEEE - the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - is the world's largest technical professional organization, with some 400,000 members representing more than 160 countries.
The IEEE medal - considered one of the highest honours in the field - is awarded every year in 19 categories. Recipients are chosen for their exceptional achievements and their impact on technology, society and the engineering profession.
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