As an undergraduate chemist in 1993, Tsuyoshi Kimura spent an inspiring six months away from his native Japan as an intern at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. Working with so many pioneering materials scientists convinced the young student that he wanted to follow in their footsteps. (See CV)

After completing his PhD on superconductivity at Tokyo University in 1996, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Joint Research Center for Atom Technology in Tsukuba. There his projects focused on magnetic transport in correlated electron systems. Working with people interested in patenting discoveries and seeking novel products taught him the importance of industry in his field of research. “The ultimate goal of our research is always application,” he says.

Ten years after his first stint in the United States, Kimura was convinced to return, this time to set up his own independent research project. The lure was a combination of academic freedom and the resources available at top-end US institutions. He spent a couple of years at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico, and then returned to Bell Laboratories, this time staying for two years. It was a fertile and busy period for him: he produced more than 30 publications and won a few prizes, including the Sir Martin Wood Prize in 2005.

“He is one of the most talented materials scientists in the world right now,” says John Sarrao, division leader of the Los Alamos materials-physics section. “We were certainly sad to see him go.”

But staying in industry was never Kimura's long-term plan. “I always wanted to go back to Japan and actively take part in guiding and educating students,” he says. So he was pleased to accept a professorship at Osaka University where he started work on 1 April.

The timing was right, Kimura says. Japan has become a major player in materials sciences. Kimura, whose expertise lies in the synthesis and analysis of condensed matter with superconducting and magnetic behaviour, expects to find a healthy research environment. The university has secured his funding for at least his first two years.

Kimura says that at heart he remains a scientist who is driven by curiosity. “At a university, the process of research is more important than immediate application,” he says. “I am looking forward to trying more complicated, adventurous topics.”