This year's ceremony honouring recipients of the Tohoku University International Award and International Alumni Association Award will be held on Homecoming Day (October 11) at Tohoku University Centennial Hall (Kawauchi Hagi Hall).

Established in 2022, these awards highlight the achievements of alumni and individuals with strong university connections whose work has enhanced Tohoku University's global presence. The awards also recognise groups whose activities foster solidarity and community among the university's worldwide network of graduates and partners.

Tohoku University International Award

The International Award includes an individual category and two sub-categories - the Science and Technology Award and the Special Award. Five exceptional individuals and two organisations comprise this year's winners.

Individual Category

• Heri Hermansyah (Indonesia), President of Universitas Indonesia
  Hermansyah has received accolades throughout his distinguished career from institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank (2017) and the Indonesian National Disaster Management Authority. His sustainability initiative 'Smart City UI' has also earned widespread praise for its progressive approach to university management.
• Nguyen Trung Viet (Vietnam), President of Thuyloi University
  An alumnus of the Graduate School of Engineering, Nguyen founded the Tohoku University Alumni Association of Vietnam (TUAAV) in 2019. He has facilitated the enrolment of numerous Vietnamese researchers and students at Tohoku University and actively mentors the next generation through joint supervision and doctoral programmes.

Science and Technology Award

• Osamu Terasaki (Japan) Professor and Director of the EM Centre, ShanghaiTech University
  Terasaki pioneered new methods of crystallographic analysis for microporous materials like zeolites using electron microscopy. These methods have enabled breakthroughs in structural determination previously unattainable with X-ray techniques. His internationally acclaimed research has built strong global partnerships, especially with institutions in China and Korea. He currently serves as a visiting professor at Tohoku University.
• Davide Bassi (Italy), Professor of Palaeontology and Palaeoecology, University of Ferrara
  Bassi has fostered academic exchange between Tohoku University and the University of Ferrara in fields such as marine palaeoecology and taxonomy of calcareous algae and large benthic foraminifera. With researchers from Tohoku University, he has co-authored 30 papers. indexed in the ISI Web of Science and played a key role in establishing a Memorandum of Understanding between both universities. His collaborative research has led to the discovery of four new species and strengthened Tohoku University's academic visibility abroad.

Special Award

• Tomasz Dietl (Poland), Head of MagTop Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences
  Dietl is a globally respected theoretical physicist renowned for his work in spintronics and topological materials. His 2000 paper in Science, proposing a theory for the ferromagnetism of diluted magnetic semiconductors, is Tohoku University's most cited publication (9,910 citations as of April 30, 2025). He has served as a professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) and as a principal investigator at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR). Currently, he leads the MagTop Centre at the Polish Academy of Sciences. With lifetime citations exceeding 35,000 and an h-index over 70, he has also deeply engaged with Tohoku University's GP-Spin international graduate programme, mentoring numerous doctoral students.

Tohoku University International Alumni Association Award

This award recognises overseas alumni chapters that have demonstrated particularly impactful and unique activities whilst raising the university's global profile. This year's winners are:

• Tohoku University Taiwan Alumni Association
  On May 14, 2025, the Taiwan Alumni Association received formal approval from Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior to begin preparations for legal incorporation. It is the first time that an overseas alumni association from Tohoku University has taken steps to becoming a legal entity.
• Tohoku University Alumni Thailand (TUAT)
  TUAT is known for its enthusiastic members who maintain lively engagement through subgroups and collaborative activities beyond standard alumni events. In addition to promoting Tohoku University's profile in Thailand, TUAT regularly contributes to public outreach, enriching local communities through initiatives such as student fairs and conferences.

Congratulations to all the winners! For more information on the Tohoku University Alumni Network, the International Awards, and the full biographies of this year's award winners, please visit the links below.

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