Kōsuke Morita Explained

Kōsuke Morita
Birth Date:23 January 1957
Birth Place:Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
Nationality:Japanese
Alma Mater:Kyushu University
Occupation:Experimental nuclear physicist
Employer:Kyushu University; Riken
Known For:Discovery of element 113

Kōsuke Morita (Japanese: 森田 浩介 Hepburn: Morita Kōsukee, born January 23, 1957) is a Japanese experimental nuclear physicist, known as the leader of the Japanese team that discovered nihonium (element 113). He currently holds a joint appointment as a professor at Kyushu University’s Graduate School of Science and as director of the Super Heavy Element Research Group at Riken's Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science.

Professional life

Kōsuke Morita is a Japanese physicist specializing in experimental nuclear physics. He was born in 1957 in the city of Kitakyushu (北九州), located in the prefecture of Fukuoka.[1] In 1979 he graduated from Kyushu University, where he would continue pursuing graduate studies. In 1984, he left Kyushu University after completing the doctoral program without receiving a degree.[2] In an interview, Morita was asked why he left without finishing his PhD thesis. He responded, “The reason was simple: I did not have the talent to finish it".[3] However, he returned to Kyushu University to complete his thesis in 1993, 9 years after beginning graduate studies.

After leaving Kyushu University in 1984 Morita joined Riken as a postdoctoral researcher, later on becoming a junior research scientist at Riken's cyclotron Laboratory. In 1991, he was promoted to research scientist and in 1993 to senior research scientist. In 2006, he was appointed chief scientist of the Superheavy Element Laboratory at Riken's Nishina Center.

Morita is currently a professor in the faculty of science at Kyushu University, where he has remained since his appointment in 2013. Additionally, he holds a position as the director of the Superheavy Element Production Team at Riken's Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science[4]

Research achievements

Synthesis of nihonium

Element 113 was first synthesized in 2004 by the Superheavy Element Production Team at Riken, under direction of Kōsuke Morita.[5] The element was synthesized using a cold fusion approach, making it the heaviest element discovered using this production method.[6] Synthesis of element 113 was accomplished by bombardment of a 209Bi target with 70Zn projectiles using a beam energy of 352.6 MeV. The experiment concluded with the synthesis of the 278113 isotope of element 113.

Morita's team successfully synthesized element 113 in a total of three occasions: July 2004, April 2005, and August 2012.[7] [8] This achievement was officially recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry on December 31, 2015, granting Morita's team the element's naming rights. The name Nihonium was proposed, making reference to Japan's name (Japanese: 日本 Hepburn: Nihon). After a five-month public comment period, the union announced its formal approval on November 30, 2016.[9] [10] Nihonium is currently the only element to have been discovered by an Asian team.[11]

The team currently aims to discover element 119, whose provisional name is ununennium.[12] [13]

Work and education

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 日本学士院賞授賞の決定について 日本学士院. www.japan-acad.go.jp. ja. 2017-12-06.
  2. Web site: KYUSHU UNIVERSITY 先生の森 Introduction of Unique Professors at Kyushu University!. Kyushu University. en. 2017-12-06.
  3. News: Asia's Scientific Trailblazers: Kosuke Morita. 2016-01-08. Asian Scientist Magazine Science, Technology and Medicine News Updates From Asia. 2017-12-06. en-US.
  4. Web site: Superheavy Element Production Team Riken. www.riken.jp. en. 2017-12-06.
  5. Morita. Kosuke. Morimoto. Kouji. Kaji. Daiya. Akiyama. Takahiro. Goto. Sin-ichi. Haba. Hiromitsu. Ideguchi. Eiji. Kanungo. Rituparna. Katori. Kenji. Experiment on the Synthesis of Element 113 in the Reaction209Bi(70Zn,n)278113. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. 73. 10. 2593–2596. 10.1143/jpsj.73.2593. 2004JPSJ...73.2593M. 2004.
  6. Nasirov. A. K.. Muminov. A. I.. Giardina. G.. Mandaglio. G.. 2014-07-01. Basic distinctions between cold- and hot-fusion reactions in the synthesis of superheavy elements. Physics of Atomic Nuclei. en. 77. 7. 881–889. 10.1134/S1063778814070126. 1063-7788. 2014PAN....77..881N. 119860679 .
  7. Web site: 113番元素の名称・記号が正式決定 理化学研究所. www.riken.jp. ja. 2017-12-06.
  8. Web site: 113番元素特設ページ 理化学研究所 仁科加速器研究センター. www.nishina.riken.jp. ja. 2017-12-06.
  9. News: 理研、113番元素の命名優先権獲得に王手 - 新たな崩壊経路の3例目を確認. マイナビニュース. 2017-12-06. ja-JP.
  10. Web site: News Jun. 20, 2016 Kyushu University Faculty of Science. www.sci.kyushu-u.ac.jp. en. 2017-12-06.
  11. Web site: Riken Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science RIKEN. www.riken.jp. en. 2017-12-06.
  12. Web site: 3個目の113番元素を合成 (PDF). 鈴木. 志乃. January 2013. 2017-12-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20151231141904/http://www.riken.jp/~/media/riken/pr/publications/news/2013/rn201301.pdf. 2015-12-31. dead.
  13. Web site: 113番元素特設ページ 理化学研究所 仁科加速器研究センター. www.nishina.riken.jp. ja. 2017-12-06.
  14. News: 理研の森田教授. 今日新聞. 2017-12-06.
  15. Web site: Discovery of the 113th super heavy element (PDF). The Japan Academy Award. The Japanese Academy of Sciences. January 2017. 2017-12-05.
  16. Web site: 朝日新聞社 -朝日賞- The Asahi Prize -. Company. The Asahi Shimbun. www.asahi.com. ja. 2017-12-06.

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