Sixteen leading scientists based in Japan were recognised for their influential contribution to global research on seven emerging research areas (known as research fronts) during the third Thomson Reuters Japan Research Day & Research Front Awards 2012 presentation ceremony held at Akasaka Business Tower in Tokyo. Business information provider Thomson Reuters honored these scientists from Japan as being at the forefront of seven research fronts spanning chemistry, geosciences, materials science and plant sciences.
The 16 awardees were presented with the accolade after their research was analysed using Thomson Reuters Research Front Methodology to assess their level of influence on specific scientific fields and Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge data. Nobel Physics Laureate Dr. Leo Esaki, president of Yokohama College of Pharmacy and chairman of the Science & Technology Promotion Foundation of Ibaraki, was the keynote speaker at the award presentation.
Research Front Methodology looks at patterns of intense communication between scientists and is based on the top 1 percent of the most highly cited research papers in each of 22 disciplines in Essential Science Indicators (ESI) from Thomson Reuters.
Research Front Methodology has been employed by the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) since 2004. NISTEP continues to monitor emerging scientific areas and technology fields using this methodology with their Science Map (NISTEP Report) report. The same methodology was also used by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) on their new R&D portal site, J-GLOBAL foresight in December 2011.
The Awards ceremony is part of a series of Asia Pacific Research Days hosted by Thomson Reuters. These events recognise research excellence in countries and regions demonstrating they are leading the world through innovation in their respective fields. Japan held its first two research days in 2004 and 2007. Similar events have also been held in Australia, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and India.
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