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Obituary: Professor Emeritus Masatsugu Shimomura

Dr. Masatsugu Shimomura, Professor Emeritus of both Tohoku University and Chitose Institute of Science and Technology, passed away on May 28, 2026.

After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at Kyushu University, Dr. Shimomura served as an Assistant Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and later became a Professor at the Research Institute for Electronic Science at Hokkaido University. During his tenure at Hokkaido University, he established the Nanotechnology Research Center. He also served as a team leader at the Frontier Research System of RIKEN, among other distinguished positions throughout his career.

In April 2007, he joined Tohoku University as a Professor at the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM). Following the establishment of the AIMR in October of the same year, he transitioned to the institute as a Principal Investigator (PI), a role he held until 2014. As a leading authority in molecular nanotechnology and biomimetics utilizing self-assembly phenomena, Dr. Shimomura made profound contributions to laying the foundation and driving the development of AIMR, while dedicatedly mentoring the next generation of researchers.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for his invaluable contributions to research, honor his remarkable achievements, and extend our heartfelt condolences.

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