26 February, 2025
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)
Kyoto University Graduate School of Science Assistant Professor and The University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) Visiting Associate Scientist Miho Katsuragawa has been named a recipient of the 2025 Fumiko Yonezawa Award, it was announced by The Physical Society of Japan in February.
The prize was established by The Physical Society of Japan in 2019 to commemorate the achievements of theoretical physicist Fumiko Yonezawa, and is awarded to women researchers in the JPS to honor and encourage their landmark studies and activities.
Katsuragawa has been recognized for her contributions to "interdisciplinary research based on hard x-ray space observation technologies and their applications to accelerator experiments," particularly for using cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor detectors developed for hard X-ray observations in space to improve the accuracy of non-destructive elemental analysis technology using low-energy negative muon beams. She also contributed to the development of new methods for accurately and simultaneously imaging radionuclides in vivo in small animals.
"I am honored to receive this award. The achievements that I am being recognized for wouldn't have been possible without the equal support of my team, especially Kavli IPMU Project Professor Tadayuki Takahashi and Project Assistant Professor Shin’ichiro Takeda. I want to thank the support from Kavli IPMU, who allowed me to focus on my work. I look forward to working further on this project and making more discoveries in the future," said Katsuragawa.
The CdTe semiconductor detector captures high-energy X-rays, or hard X-rays, with high sensitivity. Combined with optics, researchers can also determine the direction from where the X-rays came from. Katsuragawa contributed to improving CdTe detectors and applying spectral analysis methods from astronomical observations to other fields, leading to more accurate measurements in those fields. Katsuragawa carried out research at Kavli IPMU from 2018, when Kavli IPMU Professor Tadayuki Takahashi’s laboratory, which included Katsuragawa, moved to the institute. After obtaining her PhD, she became a project researcher at Kavli IPMU until March 2024. During her time at Kavli IPMU, the Takahashi group was part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Grant-in-Aid for scientific Research on Innovative project “Toward new frontiers : Encounter and synergy of state-of-the-art astronomical detectors and exotic quantum beams,” to advance X-ray and gamma-ray imaging technologies which have been developed for space observations and apply them to different research fields, such as in quantum-beam experiments, non-destructive material analysis, and medical imaging, which Katsuragawa was a central member. Since April 2024, she has been based at Kyoto University, and remains a visiting associate scientist at Kavli IPMU.
An award ceremony for this year’s Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Awards will be held in September 2025.
Related links
The 6th Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Award of the Physical Society of Japan (The Physical Society of Japan)
Using eyes that study the night sky to study cancer – imaging technology that has transcended scientific fields (Japanese)
Toward new frontiers: Encounter and synergy of state-of-the-art astronomical detectors and exotic quantum beams (Grant-in-Aid for scientific Research on Innovative Area (2018–2022), MEXT, Japan)
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