Hats off to Japanese center

The Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU; see photo) at the University of Tokyo appears to be the first national research institute in Japan ever to receive a substantial gift from a non-Japanese donor. In February the Kavli Foundation announced a $7.5 million endowment to the IPMU, making the institute the foundation’s 16th—its 6th in astrophysics and 3rd in theoretical physics.

“Within just four years, IPMU has established itself as a world-renowned institute starting from zero,” said Daisuke Yoshida, director general of the research promotion bureau in Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The Kavli IPMU, as it is now called, was launched as part of a Japanese initiative to internationalize the country’s scientific community (see PHYSICS TODAY, December 2008, page 28 ). The center has grown to 200 researchers, more than half from outside the country.

“I am super excited!” says Kavli IPMU director Hitoshi Murayama. The center’s new visibility will help attract scientists, he says. And the flexibility of the Kavli money will be especially helpful for such things as inviting potential recruits’ families to visit and seeding new research concepts. “All in all, it is a great honor to be recognized internationally for our excellence and globalization effort.”