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Curriculum Vitae

  1. Personal Information
  2. Educational Background
  3. Research and/or Professional Experience
  4. Awards
  5. List of Publications

April 1, 2024

Personal Information:

Name: Toru H. Okabe
Sex: Male
Nationality: Japanese
Date of Birth: 4 December 1965 (58 years old) 
Current position: Vice President (additional post)
The University of Tokyo
Professor
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Professor (additional post)
Research Center for Sustainable Material Energy Integration,
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Project Professor (additional post)
Endowed Research Unit for Non-Ferrous Metal Resource Recovery Engineering,
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Professor (additional post)
Graduate School of Arts and Science, GPES (Organization for Environmental Sciences (Undergraduate and Graduate Programs), The University of Tokyo
Professor (additional post)
Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Address: 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505
The University of Tokyo
Institute of Industrial Science, Room Fw301
Tel +81-3-5452-6312 (office, direct), +81-3-5452-6314 (Okabe Lab)
Fax +81-3-5452-6313
E-mail okabe@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Website http://www.okabe.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/index_e.html

Education:

Mar. 1981 The Japanese School in London
Mar. 1984 Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba
Mar. 1988 Bachelor of Engineering, Metallurgy, Kyoto University
Mar. 1990 Master of Engineering, Metallurgy, Kyoto University
Mar. 1993 Doctor of Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials Science, Kyoto University

Research/Professional Experience:

May 1993 - May 1995 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Prof. Sadoway Lab), Postdoctoral Fellow, Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research Abroad, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
May 1995 - Sep. 1995 Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T, Prof. Sadoway Lab)
Sep. 1995 - Dec. 2000 Research Associate, Institute of Advanced Materials Processing (Currently, Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM)), Tohoku University (Prof. Waseda Lab, and Prof. Umetsu Lab)
Dec. 2000 - Dec. 2008 Associate Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Associate Professor (additional post), Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Jan. 2009 - Present Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Jan. 2009 - Present  Professor (additional post), Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo 
Jan. 2012 - Present  Project Professor (additional post), Endowed Research Unit for Non-ferrous Metal Resource Recovery Engineering, The University of Tokyo 
Apr. 2012 - Mar. 2013 Department Head, Department of Materials and Environmental Science (4th Dept.), Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
May 2012 - Present  Professor (additional post), Graduate School of Arts and Science, GPES (Organization for Environmental Sciences (Undergraduate and Graduate Programs), The University of Tokyo 
Jan. 2013 - Mar. 2016 Director, International Research Center for Sustainable Materials, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2014 - Mar. 2015 Presidential Assistant, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2014 - Mar. 2015 Standing Committee Member of Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2014 - Mar. 2019 Dupty Director, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2016 - Mar. 2021 Director, Integrated Research Center for Sustainable Energy and Materials, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2019 - Mar. 2021 Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Apr. 2019 - Mar. 2021  Deputy Director General for External Relations, The University of Tokyo 
Apr. 2021 - Mar. 2024  Director General, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo 
Apr. 2024 - Present  Vice President, The University of Tokyo 
Apr. 2024 - Present  Deputy Director General for External Relations, The University of Tokyo

Awards:

  1. Student Poster Prize from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS, USA) at the 7th World Conference on Titanium, San Diego, 28 June-2 July 1992
  2. 15th Technological Development Prize (Gijutsu-kaihatsu-shou) from the Japan Institute of Metals at the 111th Fall meeting, Toyama, 6-8 October 1992
  3. 14th Honda Memorial Silver Prize (Honda-kinen-shourei-shou) from the Honda Memorial Foundation in Tokyo, 19 May 1993
  4. 11th Inoue Research Prize (Inoue-kenkyu-shourei-shou) from the Inoue Foundation for Science at Tokyo, 6 February 1995
  5. 47th Best Paper Awards (Kinzoku Gakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Japan Institute of Metals at the 125th Fall meeting, Kanazawa, 21-22 November 1999
  6. 25th Best Paper Awards (Shigen-Sozaigakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Mining and Materials Institute of Japan at the 123rd Spring meeting, Tokyo, 30 March 2000
  7. 26th Best Paper Awards (Shigen-Sozaigakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Mining and Materials Institute of Japan at the 124th Spring meeting, Tokyo, 30 March 2001
  8. 23rd Murakami Prize (Murakami-Shourei-shou) from the Murakami Memorial Foundation in Sendai, 15 May 2003
  9. 8th Honda Prize of Technological Development of Recycling from Clean Japan Center, Tokyo, January 2004
  10. 30th Encouraging Prize (Shigen-Sozaigakkai Shourei-shou) from the Mining and Materials Institute of Japan, 28 March 2005
  11. The 38th Ichimura Prize in Technology - Meritorious Achievement Prize from The New Technology Development Foundation, 28 April 2006
  12. 65th JIM Meritorious Award from the Japan Institute of Metals at the 140th Spring meeting, Chiba, 27 March 2007
  13. 32nd Best Paper Awards (Shigen-Sozaigakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Mining and Materials Institute of Japan at the 130th Spring meeting, Tokyo, 30 March 2007
  14. 26th Technology Award (Gijutsu-shou) from The Japan Titanium Society, 9 November 2009
  15. 2012 Nikkei Global Environmental Technology Awards to the establishments of innovative approaches to the global environment, Nikkei Inc., 7 November 2012
  16. The 12th Green and Sustainable Chemistry Award (GSC Award), The Minister of the Environment Award, (The Japan Association for Chemical Innovation (JACI), Green and Sustainable Chemistry Network (GSCN)), 'Development of Green Recycling Technology for Rare Earth Metals', 6 June, 2013.
  17. 36th Technological Development Prize (Gijutsu-kaihatsu-shou) from the Japan Institute of Metals at the 153th Fall meeting, Toyama, 7 September 2013
  18. The ASM Henry Marion Howe Medal for 2013 for the paper entitled, “Effective Dissolution of Platinum by Using Chloride Salts In Recovery Process”, ASM International (The Materials Information Society), Montreal, Canada, 29 October, 2013
  19. 62nd Best Paper Awards (Kinzoku Gakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Japan Institute of Metals at the (155th Fall meeting, Nagoya, 24-26 September 2014), 24 September 2014
  20. MMIJ Distinguished Paper Award 2015, (40th Best Paper Awards, Shigen-Sozaigakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan at the Spring meeting, Chiba, March 28, 2015
  21. Technology Development Award (Fujimori Award), The Rare Earth Society of Japan, (H27 Annual Meeting of The Rare Earth Society of Japan at Kagoshima), 21 May 2015
  22. 13th Honda Frontier Prize (Honda-Frontier -shou) from the Honda Memorial Foundation, 27 May 2016
  23. 86th Hoko Prize (Hattori-Hoko-Shou) from the Hattori Hokokai Fundation, 7 October 2016
  24. 2016 Molten Salt Award from Molten Salt Comittee, The Electrochemical Society of Japan, 27 January 2017
  25. 44th Best Paper Awards (Shigen-Sozaigakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Mining and Materials Institute of Japan, Tokyo, 28 March 2019
  26. H31 The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)), Prizes for Science and Technology, Public Understanding Promotion Category, 17 April 2019
  27. TMS Extraction & Processing Division Pyrometallurgy Best Paper Award, 26 February 2020
  28. The Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa at NTNU, Honorary Doctor of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 26 March 2021
  29. R3 The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)), Prizes for Science and Technology, Research Category, 14 April 2021
  30. 69th Best Paper Awards (Kinzoku Gakkai Ronbun-shou) from the Japan Institute of Metals, 14 September 2021
  31. 26th Honda Prize of Technological Development of Recycling from Clean Japan Center, Tokyo, 15 October 2021
  32. 62nd Toray Science and Technology Prize, (Toray Science Foundation), 31 March 2022
  33. Order of the Purple Ribbon in the 2023 Spring Honors, April 29, 2023


Profile
　　　　　　I was born in Kyoto in 1965, and after graduating from The Japanese School in London, and Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba, I received my Bachelor of Engineering degree in metallurgy from Kyoto University in 1988. I began my doctoral course in the same graduate school, during which time I researched the processing of reactive metals such as titanium and niobium; I completed the course in 1993. After earning my doctoral degree, I worked for 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS, Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research Abroad). Subsequently, I worked as a research associate at the Institute of Advanced Materials Processing (currently known as the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, IMRAM), Tohoku University for five years. In 2001, I became an associate professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo. After my associate professorship at the same institute, I was appointed as Professor in 2009. From 2019 to 2021, I was appointed the Vice President of the University of Tokyo. From 2021 to 2024, I was appointed the Director General of the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo. Since 2024, I have been the Vice President of the University of Tokyo.

　　　　　　Currently, I specialize in materials science, environmental science, resource circulation engineering, and rare metal process engineering. For over 35 years now, I have consistently pursued research on smelting/recycling “rare metals” or “specialty metals” or “less-common metals.” I have also been developing a new processing technology for future materials such as titanium, with the ultimate goal of realizing processing technologies that can transform rare metals into common metals. Recently, in addition to research on innovative production technologies, I have been working on developing a new recycling and environmental technology for rare metals such as niobium, tantalum, scandium, tungsten, rhenium, and precious metals.


List of Publications


(2024.6.24 updated)