Our History
Our history from NRIM and NIRIM to NIMS
NIMS was merged from two National Research Institutes in April, 2001, and began as an Independent Administrative Institution (IAI). Since April, 2015, the IAI system has been reestablished as the system of the National Research and Development Agency. You can see the introduction from the National Research Institute age to the present in the chronology on this page.
2023.04.01 Update
Chronology
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1956
National Research Institute for Metals (NRIM) established under auspices of the former Science and Technology Agency.
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1966
National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials (NIRIM) established under auspices of the former Science and Technology Agency.
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1972
NIRIM becomes the first national research institute to be relocated to Tsukuba.
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1979
NRIM opens Tsukuba Office, three research departments relocated.
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1995
NRIM relocation to Tsukuba completed.
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2001
First Mid-term (5-year) Plan- Merger of NRIM and NIRIM in April, becoming an Independent Administrative Institution called National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS).
- Teruo KISHI, the 1st president of NIMS (April, 2001 - June, 2009).
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2002
Three research centers and one research station opened in April.
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2003
- Nanotechnology Support Project Center established in June.
- International Center for Young Scientist (ICYS) program launched in September.
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2006
Second Mid-term (5-year) Plan
- 20 research centers, two laboratories and Department of Materials Infrastructure were reorganized in April.
- The Rolls-Royce Centre of Excellence for Aerospace Materials established in June. (Closed in 2011)
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2007
- NIMS Center for Nanotechnology Support Network and Nanotechnology Innovation Center newly established in April.
- 1MANA (International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics) established as one of world’s top five materials research organizations (WPI centers) in October.
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2008
- "Open Research Institute" program started.
- NIMS-TOYOTA Materials Center of Excellence for Sustainable Mobility established in July.
- ICYS reorganized as the new "International Center for Young Scientists".
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2009
- Rebuilding organization in May.
- Sukekatsu USHIODA, the 2nd president of NIMS (July, 2009 - December, 2015).
- Global Research Center for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials Science (GREEN) established in November.
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2010
- NIMS Office of ICNSEE at EMPA established in July.
- NIMS Saint-Gobain Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials established in September.
- Center of Materials Research for Low Carbon Emission in December.
- Tsukuba Innovation Arena (TIA) Promotion Office in December.
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2011
Third Mid-term (5-year) Plan- 3 research division and 1 research center (total 37 units) were reorganized in April.
- TU-NIMS Joint Research Center (TU: Tianjin University) established in September.
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2012
- Construction of New Research Complex, "NanoGREEN/WPI-MANA Bldg." , completed in March.
- Research Center for TIA Nano-Green Open Innovation established in April.
- Elements Strategy Initiative Center for Magnetic Materials (ESICMM) established in August.
- Center for Nanotechnology Platform established in August.
- Promotion Office for Microstructural Characterization Platform established in August.
- NU-NIMS Joint Research Center (NU: Northwestern University) established in September.
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2013
- NIMS-DENKA Center of Excellence for Next Generation Materials established in June.
- NIMS Open Innovation Center established in June.
- LG-NIMS Center of Excellence for Materials Science established in July.
- Center of Strategic Materials Alliance for Research and Technology: SMART Center established in July.
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2014
- Magnetic and Spintronic Materials Center established in April.
- GIANT-NIMS Collaborative Research Center established in September.
- Research Center for Structural Materials (RCSM) established in October.
- Tsukuba Open Plaza for Advanced Structural Materials (TOPAS) established in October.
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2015
- Innovation Center for Advanced Phosphors established in January.
- Construction of New Research Complex, "The Advanced Structural Materials Bldg." ,completed in March.
- The Independent Administrative Institution(IAI) system reestablished as the system of the National Research and Development Agency in April.
- Center for Materials Research by Information Integration (cMi2) established in July.
- JEOL-NIMS Center of Excellence for Analytical Technology established in October.
- Bioadhesive Materials Technology Center established in October.
- MCC-NIMS Center of Excellence for Next-generation Functional Materials established in December.
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2016
Fourth Mid-long-term (7-year) Plan- Kazuhito HASHIMOTO, the 3rd president of NIMS (January, 2016 - March, 2022).
- 7 research center and Research Network and Facility Services Division were reorganized in April.
- Center for GaN Characterization and Analysis established in April.
- LINK Center established in April.
- MSS Technology Center established in April.
- Hitachi Metals-NIMS Center of Excellence for Next-generation Materials established in July.
- NIMS promoted to a Designated National Research and Development Institute in October.
- Panasonic-NIMS Center of Excellence for Advanced Functional Materials established in November.
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2017
- Amano-Koide Collaborative Research Lab established in March
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2018
- Softbank-NIMS Advanced Technologies Development Center established in April.
- Center for Functional Sensor & Actuator established in June.
- CAMECA-NIMS 3DAP Laboratory established in June.
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2019
- Cryogenic Center for Liquid Hydrogen and Materials Science(CLean) established in April.
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2020
Global Networking Division established in April.
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2021
Center for Advanced Battery Collaboration established in June.
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2022
- Kazuhiro HONO, the 4th president of NIMS (April, 2022 - present).
- Digital Transformation Initiative Center for Magnetic Materials(DXMag) established in November.
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2023
Fifth Mid-long-term (7-year) Plan