Institute for Materials Research (金属材料研究所 Kinzoku zairyō kenkyūsyo), abbreviated IMR or Kinken (金研 Kinken), is a research institute for material sciences in the Tohoku University, Japan. It is one of the most advanced research organization in the world. In 2001, it is ranked as no.1 in the field of material sciences by ISI, Philadelphia.
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The institute is the oldest of the five research institutes of Tohoku University. It was started 90 years ago by the late Professor Kotaro Honda for research on KS steels. In 1987, it was reorganized into its present form, a national collaborative research institute, and designated as a Center of Excellence (COE) for material science.
Its research field is diverse materials as well as metals. As recent creations, new types of materials, including high performance, high quality and multifunctional materials such as amorphous alloys with complex structures, bulk metallic glasses developed from amorphous alloys. And multicomponent intermetallic compounds, quasicrystals, oxides, ceramics, nanostructural controlled metals, semiconductors, crystals for solar cells, biomaterials, organic materials, hydrogen storage alloys, and shaped crystals, etc.
The name of the institute was consequently changed to the present one, Institute for Materials Research (IMR).
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Many world-famous researchers have belonged to here. Akihisa Inoue, who was the president of Tohoku University, is well-known for his invention, bulk metallic glasses of recent years.
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