NIMS Receives PATH Award from Western Digital
2025.10.17
The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) has been honored with the "PATH (Partnership for the Advancement of Technological Horizons) Award" from Western Digital Corporation, a leading global data storage company headquartered in the United States.
Established this year, the PATH Award recognizes outstanding contributions to innovative research and exceptional partnerships between industry and academia. In its inaugural year, two institutions—one from Japan and one from the United States—were selected as recipients, with NIMS being the first organization in Japan to receive the award.
(from left) Yukiko Takahashi, CMSM Director, Kazuhiro Hono, NIMS President, Hisashi Takano, WD Japan Country Officer, and Masayoshi Shimokoshi, WD Japan Country Office Senior Director
On October 9, 2025, a presentation ceremony was held at the NIMS Sengen site, where Mr. Hisashi Takano, Japan Country Officer of Western Digital, presented a commemorative plaque to NIMS President Dr. Kazuhiro Hono.
Since 2011, NIMS has been collaborating with Western Digital on advanced materials research. In 2023, the two organizations established the "NIMS–Western Digital Storage Frontier Center", where they are jointly conducting research on materials for heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technologies to further increase the capacity of hard disk drives (HDDs) for data centers.
This award recognizes NIMS as a world-leading research institute in advanced materials—including magnetic materials—and as a key partner in driving innovation toward a sustainable future. Guided by its principle that "The true value of materials is in their use", NIMS will continue to strengthen collaboration with industry and society to advance materials science and contribute to a better future through its research outcomes.
Contact information
E-Mail: technology-transfer=nims.go.jp (Please change "=" to "@")
