Prof. Motoko Kotani, Prof. Toshikazu Sunada, and Prof. Masayoshi Esashi awarded the Japan Academy Prize

03/18/2026

Prof. Motoko Kotani, Principal Investigator at AIMR and Executive Vice President for International Research Strategy at Tohoku University, has been awarded the Japan Academy Prize.

This prize was established by the Japan Academy in 1910 to honor persons who have achieved notable research landmarks or who have authored particularly outstanding academic papers or books.

Prof. Kotani was selected for her highly acclaimed joint research on “Discrete Geometric Analysis of Infinite Graph with Symmetry (Joint Research),” together with Toshikazu Sunada, Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University and Meiji University, who served as an Adjunct Professor at AIMR from 2011 to 2023 and contributed to research supervision.

In addition, Masayoshi Esashi, Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University and Senior Research Fellow at the Micro System Integration Center, Tohoku University (µSIC), who served as a Principal Investigator at AIMR from 2013 to 2019, was also awarded the prize in recognition of his achievements in “Research and Development of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and Their Practical Applications.” Among the 12 recipients selected for the 2026 Japan Academy Prize across nine awarded achievements, three are affiliated with Tohoku University, all of whom are researchers closely associated with AIMR.