Laudation: In Celebration of Masahiro Yamashita’s 65th Birthday

Professor Masahiro Yamashita at the Tohoku University, Japan, celebrates his 65th birthday in 2019. His co-workers, colleagues, and friends congratulate him on this happy occasion. For the celebration, the Special Issue of “A Themed Issue of Functional Molecule-Based Magnets: Dedicated to Professor Masahiro Yamashita on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday” encompasses articles submitted by authors from all around the globe. The range of international contributions reflects Masahiro’s diverse scientific interests as well as his close relationship with the molecular magnetism community.

Professor Masahiro Yamashita received his Doctor of Science in 1982 from the Kyushu University. He then joined the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS). In 1985, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Professor at Kyushu University. In 1989, he was appointed to the position of Associate Professor at Nagoya University. He was a Full Professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University from 2000 to 2004. He is now a Full Professor at Tohoku University and Principal Investigator of the Soft Materials Group in Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR) at Tohoku University.

He is also Visiting Professor at Nanjing University, Zhenjiang University, Xi’an Jaotong University, Sun Yat Sen University, Peking University, Guilin Normal University, Nankai University (China), and Cagliari University (Italy).

Professor Masahiro Yamashita is one of the most influential scientists in the fields of multifunctional nanoscience of advanced metal complexes. In his research he has focused on quantum molecular spintronics, single molecule and single chain quantum magnets, strongly electron correlated nanowire metal complexes, and molecule-based magnets encapsulated in carbon nanotubes.

He has been honored with the following awards: the Inoue Scientific Award (2002), the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2005), the Award of Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (2014), and the Mukai Award (2019). He is now an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan. He is also Associate Editor of Dalton Transactions as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He is known for his strong dedication to research, teaching, and mentoring of students. In the course of his academic career he has guided 47 Ph.D. students and numerous masters students, through to graduation.

He has successfully organized the most prestigious conferences in the field of molecular magnetism which include: the International Conference, “Single-Molecule Quantum Magnets and Single-Chain Quantum Magnets—New Generation of Quantum Nanomagnets”, Okazaki, Japan, 2006; the 62nd Fujihara Seminar, "Frontier and Perspectives in Molecule-Based Quantum Magnets”, Sendai, Japan, 2012; as well as the 15th International Conference on Molecule-Based Magnets (ICMM2016) and the 43rd International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (ICCC2018) in Sendai, Japan.

Professor Masahiro Yamashita’s scientific activity is evidenced by ca. 450 research articles, 90 reviews, 20 books and book chapters, and countless contributions at conference lectures.

On this special occasion, I would like to join Masahiro’s students, co-workers, collaborators, and friends in congratulating him on this 65th birthday. We all wish for him to continue and to enjoy his scientific endeavors in good health.