Kiyoshi Tsukasa, 1959-2013

December 13, 2013 (PO24).  Dr. Kiyoshi Tsukasa, the Group Leader of Magnet Development Group and the Office Chief of Planning and Coordination at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan, passed away on January 25, 2013, at the age of 53. He left behind his wife and son.

Kiyoshi was born in Hiroshima, Japan. He received his B.S. in 1983, M.S. in 1985, and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering in 1988 all from the University of Tokyo. In 1988 he joined the National Research Institute for Metals (now NIMS) and started research activity in high-field magnet technologies. His first research achievement was the development of 20 T large bore superconducting magnet (1992) that was cooled with saturated superfluid helium.

He was also in charge of the hybrid magnets at Tsukuba Magnet Laboratory (TML) and succeeded in achieving a series of world records for the highest steady magnetic field; 36.5 T in 1995 and 37.3 T in 1999. He was promoted to Group Leader of TML in 2001 and Director of TML in 2006. His research areas had covered both the superconducting materials (metallic and oxide) and superconducting magnets. His group attained the highest magnetic field of any superconducting magnet by successful generation of 24.0 T using HTS/LTS magnet (2011).

Since the late 1990s, he devoted his efforts to the high-field superconducting NMR magnets. Successful fabrication and operation of a series of high-field NMR magnets: 920 MHz (2001), 930 MHz (2004) and 1.03 GHz (under development) will be always remembered as pioneer work. In addition to achievements in the generation of highest magnetic fields, other Kyoshi’s research achievements included the development of high magnetic-field gradient magnet to form protein crystals in quasi-microgravity environment (2004) and the development of a magnetic flux concentrator using bulk superconductor as a magnetic lens (2009).

He served Applied Superconductivity and Magnet Technology communities as a member of program committees of Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC) and International Conference of Magnet Technology (MT), was a member of Management Committee of the International Superconductivity Symposium ISS), a member of Iseult/Inumac Magnet Advisory Committee, and a vice-chairman of nomination committee of Cryogenics and Superconductivity Society of Japan for best presentations.