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The Department of Physics at Osaka University offers a world-class education to its undergraduate and graduate students. We have about 50 faculty members who teach physics over 1000 undergraduate students per year in the School of Science and the other schools of the University. Our award-winning faculty members perform cutting edge research studies. As one of the leading universities in the nation, our mission is to serve the people in Japan as well as those from the world through our intensive education, our excellence in research, and our outreach.

The Department of Physics was established in 1931 when Osaka University was founded. The tradition of the originality in research was established by the first president of the Osaka University, Prof. H. Nagaoka, a prominent physicist. Our former faculty includes Prof. H. Yagi, who invented the Yagi antenna, and Prof. S. Kikuchi, who demonstrated electron diffraction and also constructed the first cyclotron in Japan, and Prof. H. Yukawa who created his meson theory for nuclear forces when he was a lecture at Osaka University, yielding the first Japanese Nobel laureate. Other prominent professors in recent years are Profs. T. Nagamiya and J. Kanamori who established the theory of magnetism, and Prof. R. Uchiyama who developed a gauge theory.

Since then, our department has expanded and our current activities include elementary particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, computational physics, and interdisciplinary physics. We would welcome all the students who want to study at the Department of Physics, Osaka University. Let us create our future of Japan together, through physics.

©2014 Osaka University. All rights reserved.

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The Department of Physics at Tohoku University is one of the oldest and largest in Japan, having almost a 100-year history since its foundation in 1911 and it now has a faculty of more than 160 professors and about 250 students in the graduate school. Not only the faculty members but also those from research institutes and laboratories are actively involved in the school's programs. Research in our department covers all physics fields from particle and nuclear physics to condensed-matter physics, and extends even further to biophysics and industrial physics. Our graduate students are undertaking world-class research at the highest levels at the frontiers of physics under the guidance of their experienced supervisors. The advanced research facilities of our Department assist in their activities. Our Department ranks second in Japan and eleventh in the world in physics in 2012 according to a report by ISI Web of Science.

Best Global Universities for Physics in Japan

These are the top universities in Japan for physics, based on their reputation and research in the field. Read the methodology »

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Here are the best global universities for physics in Japan

University of tokyo, kyoto university, osaka university, tohoku university, nagoya university, tokyo institute of technology, university of tsukuba, kyushu university, tokyo metropolitan university, waseda university.

See the full rankings

• Clear Filters

• # 6 in Best Universities for Physics
• # 81 in Best Global Universities

The University of Tokyo, also known as UTokyo or Todai, is a Japanese national university that was founded in 1877. The... Read More

• # 27 in Best Universities for Physics
• # 140 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

Kyoto University is a Japanese national university that was founded in 1897. Originally known as Kyoto Imperial... Read More

• # 67 in Best Universities for Physics  (tie)
• # 286 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

Osaka University, sometimes called OU, is a Japanese national university that was founded in 1931 as the sixth imperial... Read More

• # 86 in Best Universities for Physics

Tohoku University is a Japanese national university that was founded in 1907. The institution is spread across five... Read More

• # 93 in Best Universities for Physics  (tie)
• # 333 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

Nagoya University is a Japanese national university that traces its roots back to 1871, when its predecessor medical... Read More

• # 360 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

The Tokyo Institute of Technology, also known as Tokyo Tech, is a Japanese national university. The institution traces... Read More

• # 145 in Best Universities for Physics
• # 432 in Best Global Universities  (tie)
• # 177 in Best Universities for Physics  (tie)
• # 349 in Best Global Universities  (tie)
• # 200 in Best Universities for Physics  (tie)
• # 757 in Best Global Universities  (tie)
• # 229 in Best Universities for Physics  (tie)
• # 579 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

Department of Physics Graduate School of Science / School of Science

Exploring unknown elementary particles in quantum many-body phenomena Challenge of matter science

Cosmology with Big Data Extracting the Law of the Universe from Millions of Galaxies

Explore the Secret of Life by Physics

Quest for the origin of the physics principles Probing elementary particle physics with ultra-high precision measurements

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100 Best universities for Physics in Japan

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in Japan ranked based on their research performance in Physics. A graph of 45.5M citations received by 2.77M academic papers made by 503 universities in Japan was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Tokyo

For Physics

2. Kyoto University

3. Tohoku University

4. Osaka University

5. Tokyo Institute of Technology

6. Nagoya University

7. Kyushu University

8. Hokkaido University

9. Tokyo University of Science

10. University of Tsukuba

11. Hiroshima University

12. Keio University

13. Waseda University

14. Kobe University

15. Chiba University

16. Tokyo Metropolitan University

17. Okayama University

18. Osaka Prefecture University

19. Kanazawa University

20. Yokohama National University

21. Nagoya Institute of Technology

22. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

23. Kumamoto University

24. Shizuoka University

25. Osaka City University

26. Shinshu University

27. Nihon University

28. Niigata University

29. University of Electro-Communications

30. Toyohashi University of Technology

31. Gunma University

32. Yamaguchi University

33. University of Tokushima

34. Kyushu Institute of Technology

35. Kyoto Institute of Technology

36. Yamagata University

37. Nagaoka University of Technology

38. Kindai University

39. Gifu University

40. Tokyo Medical and Dental University

41. Ehime University

42. Tokai University

43. Mie University

44. Nagasaki University

45. Ritsumeikan University

46. Saitama University

47. Ibaraki University

48. Nara Institute of Science and Technology

49. University of Yamanashi

50. University of Toyama

51. Kagoshima University

52. Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

53. Saga University

54. Kansai University

55. Graduate University for Advanced Studies

56. Doshisha University

57. University of Fukui

58. Tottori University

59. Sophia University

60. Aoyama Gakuin University

61. Meijo University

62. University of Hyogo

63. Okayama University of Science

64. Iwate University

65. Fukuoka University

66. Kanagawa University

67. Shimane University

68. Akita University

69. Chuo University

70. Toyota Technological Institute

71. Kwansei Gakuin University

72. Toho University

73. Yokohama City University

74. Meiji University

75. Kitasato University

76. Hirosaki University

77. Shibaura Institute of Technology

78. Utsunomiya University

79. Nagoya City University

80. Nagaoka University

81. kagawa university.

82. University of the Ryukyus

83. Hosei University

84. Muroran Institute of Technology

85. Oita University

86. Tokyo Denki University

87. University of Miyazaki

88. Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine

89. Teikyo University

90. Kanazawa Institute of Technology

91. Chubu University

92. Chiba Institute of Technology

93. Gakushuin University

94. Jichi Medical University

95. Ochanomizu University

96. Showa University

97. Juntendo University

98. University of Shizuoka

99. Kogakuin University

100. Kochi University

The best cities to study Physics in Japan based on the number of universities and their ranks are Tokyo , Kyoto , Sendai , and Suita .

Physics subfields in Japan

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Found 3 PhD jobs

Principal investigator in modeling of plant stress responses.

• Umeå (Kommun), Västerbotten (SE)
• Competitive
• Umeå Plant Science Centre and Integrated Science Lab

Join our multidisciplinary and stimulative research environment as Associate Professor in Modeling of Plant Stress Responses

View details Principal Investigator in Modeling of Plant Stress Responses

• 29 days ago
• Save Principal Investigator in Modeling of Plant Stress Responses You need to sign in or create an account to save

World-Class Leaders for Research in Materials Science

• Tsukuba, Japan (JP)
• Fellow or Distinguished Group Leader Class
• National Institute for Materials Science

National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Japan) calls for outstanding researchers who can drive world-class research in materials science.

View details World-Class Leaders for Research in Materials Science

• 27 days ago
• Save World-Class Leaders for Research in Materials Science You need to sign in or create an account to save

Research projects in all fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are welcome

• An annual salary basis as stipulated in the Kyoto University Rules
• Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University

The aim of fostering future world-class researchers at Kyoto University.

View details Research projects in all fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are welcome

• 2 days left
• Save Research projects in all fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are welcome You need to sign in or create an account to save

Permanent Researcher Positions for Materials Science

• approx. 6M-10M JPY

NIMS (Tsukuba, Japan) invites international applications from researchers who can conduct research in materials science.

View details Permanent Researcher Positions for Materials Science

• 44 days ago
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Shunsaku Nagasawa receives the 10th High Energy AstroPhysics Association of Japan PhD Dissertation Award

April 18, 2024 Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)

Shunsaku Nagasawa, a third year Physics PhD student at the The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science, has been honored by the High Energy AstroPhysics Association for his dissertation, “Developing Innovative Hard X-ray Spectral Imager for Studies of Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares,” it was announced by the association.

The High Energy AstroPhysics Association was established in 1999 by a community of scientists involved in the development of satellites and rockets for observing the universe using X-rays and gamma rays. Their mission includes providing expert opinions on large-scale projects, and guiding the development of future space missions.

Since 2014, the association has invited graduate students to present their dissertations every year, and at the end, one participant who demonstrated the most potential is awarded the High Energy AstroPhysics Association of Japan PhD Dissertation Award.

Nagasawa pursued his graduate studies under Professor Tadayuki Takahashi at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI). He participated in FOXSI (Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager), a US-Japan cooperative rocket experiment aiming to uncover still unknown details about the Sun by observing X-rays emitted from the solar corona through focusing imaging spectroscopic observations. The award-winning dissertation by Nagasawa discusses the details behind the hard X-ray detector on FOXSI-4, which is scheduled to be launched in spring this year.

Nagasawa completed his PhD in March 2024, and has since been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, since the beginning of this month.  

Related links The 10th High Energy AstroPhysics Association of Japan PhD Dissertation Award (in Japanese)

Tadayuki Takahashi Laboratory, Kavli IPMU, The University of Tokyo (Astrophysics experiments and gamma ray imaging) (in Japanese)  

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April 22, 2024

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Japan's premodern concept of nature at root of distinctive mindset in early childhood education

by Osaka Metropolitan University

Observers of Japanese early childhood education and care have pointed to the mindset of educators watching over and waiting on preschoolers as being an intriguing tendency. This "mimamoru" approach has its roots in a premodern concept of nature, according to Professor Yosuke Hirota at the Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences of Osaka Metropolitan University.

Professor Hirota looked into the works of Sozo Kurahashi (1882–1955) and Kitaro Nishida (1870–1945) to see how this concept of nature from the past made its way into education in the present day. Kurahashi's writing on education influenced early childhood education and care in Japan, while Nishida was one of the prominent philosophers of Kurahashi's time. The paper was published in History of Education .

It is well known in classical literary studies that the concept of nature in Japan had two meanings: voluntary, "from the self," and spontaneous, "beyond the self." What Professor Hirota found is that this concept has been carried over into modern education in Japan.

"Japanese educational philosophy has maintained a balance between acting by one's will and entrusting oneself to something beyond its will," stated Professor Hirota.

Kurahashi developed a theory of guidance (yūdō), likened to guiding the course of a river as it continues its inevitable flow. Professor Hirota said the achievement of his paper has been to find that this theory of guidance has its roots in Japan's traditional concept of nature.

Provided by Osaka Metropolitan University

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Ten inducted into Bouchet Honor Society

4/22/2024 By | Katya Hrichak , Cornell University Graduate School

Eight Cornell doctoral candidate, including five connected to A&S, and two postdocs have been inducted into the Cornell chapter of the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society .

The Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Its network of scholars exemplifies academic and personal excellence, character, service, and advocacy especially for those from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the academy.

Cornell’s Bouchet scholars, along with scholars from institutions around the country, were inducted at the annual Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity and Graduate Education hosted by the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in New Haven, Connecticut on April 5 and 6. The theme of this year’s conference was “Rediscovering the Legacy of Edward A. Bouchet: A Catalyst for Historical Reckoning.” During the two-day program, six Cornell scholars gave poster and oral research presentations.

Scholars and their invited mentors and loved ones were also honored at the Cornell Bouchet Scholar Recognition and Celebration on April 17 at Cornell. Remarks on the meaning of the Bouchet Society were provided by Bouchet scholar and Deputy Provost Avery August.

“It is an incredible privilege each year to see such a strong cohort of students and postdocs recognized for their efforts to improve academia and the world more broadly through their scholarship and service efforts focused on advancing aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Sara Xayarath Hernández, associate dean for inclusion student and faculty engagement.

Cornell’s 2024 Bouchet Scholars:

• Evelyn M. Ambríz , postdoctoral associate for mentoring and faculty engagement in the Graduate School
• Drea Darby , doctoral candidate in entomology
• Juliana González-Tobón , doctoral candidate in plant pathology and plant-microbe biology
• Jesus Lopez Baltazar , doctoral candidate in chemical engineering
• Jason Ludwig , doctoral candidate in science and technology studies
• Kelly Richmond , doctoral candidate in performing and media arts
• Reum Scott , postdoctoral researcher in materials science and engineering
• Vaibhav Sharma , doctoral candidate in physics
• Meagan Sundstrom , doctoral candidate in physics
• Katherine Ally Zaslavsky , doctoral candidate in sociology

“Being a Bouchet Scholar is one of the greatest honors I have had at Cornell,” said Lopez Baltazar. “During the first years of my Ph.D. studies, I was very fortunate to interact with several peers who became Bouchet Scholars. Witnessing their passion, drive, and commitment toward leadership and service was very inspiring, and it motivated me to walk my own journey considering their footsteps.”

Several members of this year’s cohort note looking forward to joining the broader Bouchet Society community, which will allow them to share ideas, create opportunities, and contribute to the creation of more inclusive learning environments.

“What I appreciate most about the Bouchet Society values is that they remind us that the role of the scholar is not limited to research and teaching within the confines of the academy; as scholars we exist within a greater cultural and intellectual ecosystem with which we must be response-able and care-full,” said Richmond.

Yale and Howard Universities established the Bouchet Society in 2005 to recognize the life and academic contributions of Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first African American to receive a doctorate from a U.S. university. He earned his degree in physics from Yale in 1876.

Outside of the society’s founding universities, Cornell was among the earliest universities to establish a chapter of the Bouchet Society, inducting its first members in 2006.

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Physics graduate Mason Ng to attend Nobel laureate event

23 April 2024

Faculty of Science , Alumni , Doctoral

Waipapa Taumata Rau graduate Mason Ng will be one of the young scientists exchanging views with superstars of physics.

Studying physics at the University of Auckland, Mason Ng dreamed of attending a world event where students mix with Nobel Prize winners. Now, it’s happening.

“It’s wild to me that I’m invited,” says Mason, who will attend the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany, from 30 June to 5 July.

The event brings students together with superstars of physics for exchanges between different generations on topics such as quantum physics, the future of energy, and AI.

Anne L’Huillier and Ferenc Krausz will be among more than 30 Nobel Laureates in attendance, along with more than 650 young scientists from around the world, chosen through a competitive process.

Mason is on the verge of completing a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on neutron stars. He was a dux at Auckland’s Lynfield College before graduating from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Science (Honours).

Media contact

Paul Panckhurst | media adviser M: 022 032 8475 E: paul.panckhurst@auckland.ac.nz  

Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

At michigan state university, frib researchers lead team to merge nuclear physics experiments and astronomical observations to advance equation-of-state research, world-class particle-accelerator facilities and recent advances in neutron-star observation give physicists a new toolkit for describing nuclear interactions at a wide range of densities..

For most stars, neutron stars and black holes are their final resting places. When a supergiant star runs out of fuel, it expands and then rapidly collapses on itself. This act creates a neutron star—an object denser than our sun crammed into a space 13 to  18 miles wide. In such a heavily condensed stellar environment, most electrons combine with protons to make neutrons, resulting in a dense ball of matter consisting mainly of neutrons. Researchers try to understand the forces that control this process by creating dense matter in the laboratory through colliding neutron-rich nuclei and taking detailed measurements.

A research team—led by William Lynch and Betty Tsang at FRIB—is focused on learning about neutrons in dense environments. Lynch, Tsang, and their collaborators used 20 years of experimental data from accelerator facilities and neutron-star observations to understand how particles interact in nuclear matter under a wide range of densities and pressures. The team wanted to determine how the ratio of neutrons to protons influences nuclear forces in a system. The team recently published its findings in Nature Astronomy .

“In nuclear physics, we are often confined to studying small systems, but we know exactly what particles are in our nuclear systems. Stars provide us an unbelievable opportunity, because they are large systems where nuclear physics plays a vital role, but we do not know for sure what particles are in their interiors,” said Lynch, professor of nuclear physics at FRIB and in the Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Physics and Astronomy. “They are interesting because the density varies greatly within such large systems.  Nuclear forces play a dominant role within them, yet we know comparatively little about that role.” 

When a star with a mass that is 20-30 times that of the sun exhausts its fuel, it cools, collapses, and explodes in a supernova. After this explosion, only the matter in the deepest part of the star’s interior coalesces to form a neutron star. This neutron star has no fuel to burn and over time, it radiates its remaining heat into the surrounding space. Scientists expect that matter in the outer core of a cold neutron star is roughly similar to the matter in atomic nuclei but with three differences: neutron stars are much larger, they are denser in their interiors, and a larger fraction of their nucleons are neutrons. Deep within the inner core of a neutron star, the composition of neutron star matter remains a mystery. 

  “If experiments could provide more guidance about the forces that act in their interiors, we could make better predictions of their interior composition and of phase transitions within them. Neutron stars present a great research opportunity to combine these disciplines,” said Lynch.

Accelerator facilities like FRIB help physicists study how subatomic particles interact under exotic conditions that are more common in neutron stars. When researchers compare these experiments to neutron-star observations, they can calculate the equation of state (EOS) of particles interacting in low-temperature, dense environments. The EOS describes matter in specific conditions, and how its properties change with density. Solving EOS for a wide range of settings helps researchers understand the strong nuclear force’s effects within dense objects, like neutron stars, in the cosmos. It also helps us learn more about neutron stars as they cool.

“This is the first time that we pulled together such a wealth of experimental data to explain the equation of state under these conditions, and this is important,” said Tsang, professor of nuclear science at FRIB. “Previous efforts have used theory to explain the low-density and low-energy end of nuclear matter. We wanted to use all the data we had available to us from our previous experiences with accelerators to obtain a comprehensive equation of state.”   

Researchers seeking the EOS often calculate it at higher temperatures or lower densities. They then draw conclusions for the system across a wider range of conditions. However, physicists have come to understand in recent years that an EOS obtained from an experiment is only relevant for a specific range of densities. As a result, the team needed to pull together data from a variety of accelerator experiments that used different measurements of colliding nuclei to replace those assumptions with data. “In this work, we asked two questions,” said Lynch. “For a given measurement, what density does that measurement probe? After that, we asked what that measurement tells us about the equation of state at that density.”   

In its recent paper, the team combined its own experiments from accelerator facilities in the United States and Japan. It pulled together data from 12 different experimental constraints and three neutron-star observations. The researchers focused on determining the EOS for nuclear matter ranging from half to three times a nuclei’s saturation density—the density found at the core of all stable nuclei. By producing this comprehensive EOS, the team provided new benchmarks for the larger nuclear physics and astrophysics communities to more accurately model interactions of nuclear matter.

The team improved its measurements at intermediate densities that neutron star observations do not provide through experiments at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany, the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science in Japan, and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (FRIB’s predecessor). To enable key measurements discussed in this article, their experiments helped fund technical advances in data acquisition for active targets and time projection chambers that are being employed in many other experiments world-wide.   

In running these experiments at FRIB, Tsang and Lynch can continue to interact with MSU students who help advance the research with their own input and innovation. MSU operates FRIB as a scientific user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. FRIB is the only accelerator-based user facility on a university campus as one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities .  Chun Yen Tsang, the first author on the Nature Astronomy  paper, was a graduate student under Betty Tsang during this research and is now a researcher working jointly at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Kent State University. 

“Projects like this one are essential for attracting the brightest students, which ultimately makes these discoveries possible, and provides a steady pipeline to the U.S. workforce in nuclear science,” Tsang said.

The proposed FRIB energy upgrade ( FRIB400 ), supported by the scientific user community in the 2023 Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Long Range Plan , will allow the team to probe at even higher densities in the years to come. FRIB400 will double the reach of FRIB along the neutron dripline into a region relevant for neutron-star crusts and to allow study of extreme, neutron-rich nuclei such as calcium-68. 

Eric Gedenk is a freelance science writer.

Michigan State University operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.

• Personnel & Job Information

Research Fields of Participating Institutions

Hongo campus.

• Department of Physics
• Center for Nuclear Study
• Research Center for the Early Universe
• International Center for Elementary Particle Physics
• Institute for Photon Science and Technology
• Universe Biology Institute
• Institute for Physics of Intelligence

Kashiwa Campus

• The Institute for Solid State Physics
• Institute for Cosmic Ray Research
• Graduate School of Frontier Sciences
• Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe

Komaba Campus

• Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Institute of Industrial Science

Tsukuba, Ibaraki

• High Energy Accelerator Research Organization

Wako, Saitama

Sagamihara, kanagawa.

• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
• Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research

• MyU : For Students, Faculty, and Staff

Onrí Jay Benally receives 2024 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Doctoral student Onrí Jay Benally is a 2024 recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Benally is currently pursuing his doctoral research under the guidance of Distinguished McKnight Professor and Robert F. Hartmann chair Jian-Ping Wang exploring the world of quantum computing and spintronic devices. 

A Navaho (Diné) tribesman and carpenter, Benally comes to us from the mountains of Red Valley and Oak Springs, Arizona. After graduating from tribal high school, he found himself building off-road electric vehicles at a Utah State University lab led by Professors Curtiz Frazier and Jared Barrett. Two years later, in 2017, he transferred to the University of Minnesota and accepted a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) through the NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University. During this time, he worked with Professor Vlad Pribiag (School of Physics and Astronomy) building nanoelectronic devices in the cleanroom for Majorana fermion research. The REU was Benally’s first brush with quantum technology exploration. He returned to the MRSEC REU in summer 2018 and this time he worked with Wang on micro and nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions for classical computer memory and logic applications. He earned his bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from the University in 2021. 

While Benally was working on his undergraduate degree, he earned an IBM certificate in quantum computation using Qiskit, and began hypothesizing how metallic-based spintronics and new architectures could be used to support the expansion of quantum supercomputing worldwide. The initial hypothesis motivated him to enter ECE’s doctoral program in fall 2022. 

Reflecting on his interest in quantum technology and his skills as a carpenter, Benally says, "Carpentry was my livelihood on the tribe before completing my undergraduate degree. It is a big part of who I am and has indirectly led to my success as a nanofabricator of spintronics and quantum chips." Benally shares that one of his first toys as a kid was a toy hammer. 

Benally’s research interests revolve around the engineering of quantum computing hardware and spintronic devices. An interdisciplinary area, his research involves the nanofabrication of ultrafast nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions, cryogenic magnetic random-access memory (cryo-MRAM), and hybrid spintronic quantum processing units (QPUs), systems that can form scalable, sustainable quantum hardware architectures. Under the guidance of Wang, Benally designs and fabricates these systems at the Minnesota Nano Center at the University. Benally addressed these new developments in his keynote speech at the Arizona State University-led Quantum Collaborative Summit this past fall in San Antonio, Texas. Over the upcoming summer, Benally will be a graduate intern with IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, New York. As a quantum hardware engineer, he will be working on cutting edge cryogenic electronics for large-scale superconducting quantum computers.

Benally has accepted the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and feels honored to start delivering on his proposed ideas on supporting quantum supercomputing through spintronics and new architectures. 

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps “ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.” Learn about the program and eligibility requirements.

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