Professor Tomasz Dietl, a leading physicist with the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious Tohoku University International Award – Special Award.
The Japanese distinction, established in 2022, recognises individuals who have significantly contributed to enhancing Tohoku University's international visibility.
Dietl, a world-renowned expert in spintronics and topological materials, was selected for his decades-long collaboration with the university and pivotal role in advancing its spintronics research.
“Dietl is a globally respected theoretical physicist known for his work in spintronics and topological materials and played a vital role in developing the university’s spintronics research,” the Institute of Physics said.
Dietl heads the International Center for Interfacing Magnetism and Superconductivity with Topological Matter (MagTop) in Warsaw. Since 1999, he has also held a professorship at Tohoku University’s Research Institute of Electrical Communication and served as Principal Investigator at its Advanced Institute for Materials Research from 2012 to 2023.
His 2000 paper published in Science, proposing a theory for ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors, remains the most cited publication in Tohoku University’s history, with 9,910 citations as of April 30, 2025.
Dietl’s overall scientific output has garnered more than 35,000 citations globally.
The nomination for the award described Dietl as “a globally respected theoretical physicist” and praised his critical role in the development of spintronics research at the university. Spintronics is a field of electronics in which information is carried not only by electric current but also by the spin of electrons.
Throughout his career, Dietl has been involved in international scientific collaboration and education, including the GP-Spin international graduate programme at Tohoku. In Poland, he founded and has led the Laboratory for Cryogenic and Spintronic Studies since 1986.
A member of the Polish Academy of Sciences since 1998, Dietl has received numerous honours, including the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Award (1997), Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2003), and the Marian Smoluchowski Medal of the Polish Physical Society (2010).
In 2013, he was decorated with the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
The award ceremony will take place in Sendai on October 11, 2025, during Tohoku University’s Homecoming Day celebrations.(PAP)
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