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    Prof. Dr. Masakazu Aono

    Executive Advisor (former Director)
    International Center for Material Nanoarchitectonics (MANA)
    National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan

    Distinguished Chair Professor
    Department of Materials Science & Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan


Biographical Sketch

Prof. Masakazu Aono obtained his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1972 and became a research member at the National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials (NIRIM), Japan (1972-1986). During this period, he spent two years (1978-1980) as a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Physical Sciences Lab), USA, and also as a visiting scientist at the IBM Watson Research Center (Dr. Dean Eastman’s group), USA.

In 1986, he became a Chief Scientist (Laboratory Director) at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Japan where he organized and directed the Surface and Interface Laboratory (1986-2002). He was concurrently appointed professor of Atomic-scale Materials Technology at Osaka University (1996-2005).

In 2002, Professor Aono moved to the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, as the director of the Nanomaterials Laboratories (NML) (2002-2006). From 2007, he organized and directed the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) at NIMS (2007-2017), which is one of the five research centers selected/founded in 2007 by the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI Program) of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT).

In 2017, Professor Aono stepped down as director of MANA and has taken on the role of executive advisor to MANA (2017-present). Professor Aono is also a distinguished chair professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University (2016-present).