Setsuhisa Tanabe of Kyoto University receives the Otto Schott Research Award

Setsuhisa Tanabe from Kyoto University receives the Otto Schott Research Award

Award winner Setsuhisa Tanabe is a professor of material chemistry at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies in Japan. TheSociety of Glass Technology are honoured to have Prof Setsuhisa Tanabe as a Member. He is a Fellow the International Society of Optics and Photonics (SPIE) and the American Ceramic Society. Prof. Tanabe is a prominent name in the fields of rare-earth doped glass, glass-ceramic and optically active ceramic materials. In addition, he made important contributions to education and training at Kyoto University and in international glass and ceramic organizations.

Since 1991, the Otto Schott Research Award has been endowed biennially with 25,000 euros to recognize outstanding achievements in basic and applied research related to glass, glass-ceramics, and advanced materials. The award is granted by the Ernst Abbe Fund and managed by the Association for German Science (Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft). Previous winners of the prize include chemists and physicians from around the world.

The award is named after Otto Schott who developed ground-breaking glass solutions for optics, pharmaceuticals, and many other technical applications and is credited as the inventor of specialty glass. Together with Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss, Otto Schott founded the Schott & Associates Glass Technology and Laboratory in 1884, which grew into SCHOTT, a global leader in specialty glass and materials today. The Carl Zeiss Foundation is the sole shareholder of SCHOTT and Carl Zeiss.

“We are honoured to recognize Professor Tanabe’s long-standing and influential work through this year’s Otto Schott Research Award,” said Dr Matthias Müller, Head of R&D at SCHOTT and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Erst Abbe Fund. “His contribution to advancing knowledge and education in the field is invaluable and he has also helped advance important product developments at SCHOTT.”

Professor Tanabe was interviewed in Germany after receiving the prize.