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Fumitaka Sato

さとう ふみたか

Satō Fumitaka

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-03-23 （Ayukai Village, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (now Shirataka)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Ayukai (now Shirataka), Yamagata Prefecture, Japan → Kyoto (worked at Kyoto University) → Kobe (worked at Konan University)

Career

Occupations
Physicist, University professor, Researcher, Science communicator, Author
Active Years
1964-2013
Affiliations
Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto University (Professor Emeritus), Konan University
Memberships
Physical Society of Japan
Influenced By
Hideki Yukawa
Influenced
Setsu Sasaki, Naoki Gouda, Katsuhiko Sato

Education

Kyoto University
Faculty of Science / Department of Physics
Country: Japan
Kyoto University
Graduate School of Science / Physics (Astrophysical Nuclear Research Group)
Degree: 理学博士
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: Japan
Doctoral thesis: "General relativistic instability of the supermassive stars" (translated title)

Awards

Nishina Memorial Prize
1973
Work: Discovery of the Tomimatsu–Sato solution
Organization: Nishina Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Matsunaga Prize
1975
Result: 受賞
Order of the Purple Ribbon
1999
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Nishinomiya City Educational Merit
2001
Organization: Nishinomiya City
Result: 表彰
Kyoto Shimbun Cultural and Academic Award
2007
Organization: Kyoto Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays (Middle)
2013
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award (Special Merit)
2018
Organization: Kyoto Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Kyoto City Cultural Merit
2021
Organization: City of Kyoto
Result: 選出
Japan Association of Academicians Academia Prize
2022
Organization: Japan Association of Academicians (National)
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2024
Work: 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics
Organization: The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

100 Years of Quantum Mechanics

2024 Popular science / Expository

An accessible account of the history and key theories of quantum mechanics and their impact on modern science, including reflections on the philosophy of science.

Quantum mechanicsHistory of sciencePhilosophy of science

The Century of Physics — Will Einstein's Dream Be Fulfilled?

1999 Science book

Survey of Einstein's achievements and the development of 20th-century physics, discussing contemporary challenges.

EinsteinRelativityModern physics

Path to Astrophysics — Cosmic Rays, Black Holes, and the Big Bang

2002 Textbook / Expository

A text introducing major topics in astrophysics, such as cosmic rays, black holes, and the Big Bang, aimed at general readers and students.

Cosmic raysBlack holesBig BangObservation and theory

Bibliography

  • Evolution of Stars
  • The Creation of the Universe
  • Einstein's Egg
  • How We Captured the Universe
  • Modern Cosmology
  • The Day I Become Einstein
  • Relativity and Cosmology
  • What Einstein Thought
  • Discovery of the Big Bang
  • Big Bang
  • Structure of the Universe
  • What Hideki Yukawa Thought
  • Science of Stars and the Universe
  • Development of Cosmology and Unified Theory
  • Invitation to Cosmology
  • Basic Knowledge of Stars and the Universe: What Is a Black Hole?
  • The Beginning of the Universe
  • Contemporary View of the Universe: Overview
  • A Glimpse into the Quantum Universe
  • Einstein's Universe
  • Structure and Energy of the Universe
  • Science and Happiness
  • Modern Conceptions of the Universe
  • The Ideology of Quantum Mechanics
  • Creating Knowledge — The University in the New Century
  • Why Mars' Twilight Is Blue
  • The Future of Scientists
  • Seeing the Universe with a Microscope
  • The Lonely Einstein
  • Why Don't Clouds Fall?
  • Biographies of Peculiar and Surprising Scientists
  • Broken Symmetry
  • Why Is Summer Hot?
  • Einstein's Rebellion and Quantum Computers
  • Science as a Profession
  • Can Quantum Mechanics Describe the World?
  • Broken Symmetry: Particles and the Laws of the Universe
  • This Is How Scientists See the World
  • Scientists Doubt the Obvious
  • Science in History
  • Professor Fumitaka Sato's Quantum Theory
  • The World of Hope Painted by Quantum Mechanics
  • Memoirs of a Physicist: Hideki Yukawa and Long Postwar Japan
  • The Science of 'Mechanics'
  • Science in Transition: From 'Packages' to 'Loose Sales'

Translations by Author

  • Black Holes (translated work; R. Ruffini)
  • Astronomy (translated work; J. Thompson)
  • Time Warp (translated work; John Gribbin)
  • The Approaching Universe (translated work; G.B. Fields)
  • The Evolving Universe (translated work; G.B. Fields)
  • The Beginning of the Universe (translated work; Fang Leizhi)
  • Dark Matter: The Darkness of the Universe (translated work; John Gribbin)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, pedagogical explanatory styleExplains technical topics for a general audience
Recurring Motifs
Relativity and its applicationsThe Big Bang and cosmologyRelations between science and society

Legacy

Sato made significant contributions to cosmology and relativity, including the discovery of the Tomimatsu–Sato solution, and left a broad impact through popular science writing and science education. He served as Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University.

Museums

  • Kids' Science Center Photon (Honorary Director) Kizugawa, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Physical Society of Japan

Trivia

  • As a child he was inspired by Hideki Yukawa's Nobel Prize and decided to pursue physics.
  • He and Akira Tomimatsu discovered the Tomimatsu–Sato solution, for which they received the Nishina Memorial Prize.
  • He served as director of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics and edited a collected works of Hideki Yukawa.