Tatsuo Tabata; taken from a group photo of one of the third-year classes at Dalian Reizen Elementary School
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1946
Dalian, China
Former Dalian Reizen Elementary School, drawn by Tatsuo Tabata
College/University
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1957
Tatsuo Tabata in student days at Kyoto University
Career
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1960
Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Radiation Center of Osaka Prefecture
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1985
Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Research Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Osaka Prefecture University
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1994
A commemorative picture of Tatsuo Tabata, drawn by an anonymous painter on an unglazed tile, coated with resin, and then cured with an electron beam, on the occasion of visiting the 50th-anniversary exhibition of an electric company
Gallery of Tatsuo Tabata
1977
Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Tatsuo Tabata drawn by K. Tsuru
Achievements
1995
Marquis Who’s Who in the World certificate for Tabata as a subject of the biographical record, 1995
Membership
Physical Society of Japan
1958 - 2019
Tabata giving one of his earliest presentations at the Meeting of the Physical Society of Japan in 1962, taken by his boss Shigeru Okabe
Awards
Takamine prize
1954
Takamine Prize certificate
Grant for Defect Detection by Electron Beams
1986
The first page of the report on the study done with the Grant for Defect Detection by Electron Beams
A commemorative picture of Tatsuo Tabata, drawn by an anonymous painter on an unglazed tile, coated with resin, and then cured with an electron beam, on the occasion of visiting the 50th-anniversary exhibition of an electric company
Selected papers of Tatsuo Tabata and his coworkers. Vols. 1-2, edited with commentaries by T. Tabata (Division of Radiation Physics, Research Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, 1998) National Diet Library, Japan, Record ID No. 000008212840
(These volumes contain 90 papers selected from Tabata's pu...)
These volumes contain 90 papers selected from Tabata's publications in scientific journals with his commentaries.
http://opac.ndl.go.jp/recordid/000008212840/eng
1998
Passage through Spacetime: Random Writings of a Physicist
(Self-published with coordination by Jupiter, Tokyo, 2009....)
Self-published with coordination by Jupiter, Tokyo, 2009. Contains three parts: Part I. Hello Mr. Feynman! Part II. Book Reviews, and Part III. Vicky: A Novella.
http://ideaisaac.web.fc2.com/passage.html
2009
book sections
Brush Up Your English for Science, edited by Shin-ichi Hyodo (Shokabo, Tokyo, 1989) (in Japanese)
(Tabata wrote a section, "Reading Science Popularization i...)
Tabata wrote a section, "Reading Science Popularization in English."
Left-Handers in Mirrors: Mirror Reversal Puzzle, by Hirokazu Yoshimura (Nakanishiya, Kyoto, 2004) (in Japanese)
(Tabata wrote a section, "Commentary by a Physicist.")
Tabata wrote a section, "Commentary by a Physicist."
http://www.nakanishiya.co.jp/book/b134236.html
Radiation Dosimetry of Electron Beams for Radiation Processing, edited by Radiation Application Development Association, Japan (Chijin-Shokan, Tokyo, 1990) (in Japanese)
(Tabata wrote subsections from 4.1 to 4.5, 7.1, and 7.2 ab...)
Tabata wrote subsections from 4.1 to 4.5, 7.1, and 7.2 about fundamental data for electron beam dosimetry and methods to calculate absorbed doses.
Tatsuo Tabata is a Japanese physicist and researcher. He received the Takamine prize from the Dr. Jokichi Takamine Memorial Association in 1953 and a grant for Defect Detection by Electron Beams from the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government from 1982 to 1985. He was a member of the American Physical Society, the Physical Society of Japan, and many other societies.
Background
Ethnicity:
Since his ancestors’ many generations ago, Tabata’s family has belonged to the ethnic group of Japan within East Asians.
Tatsuo Tabata was born on April 17, 1935, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, as the third son of Kunika and Chiyoko (Kawamura) Tabata. Both parents were teachers, so Tatsuo grew up in an educational environment and liked reading books from childhood.
Education
Tabata entered Nanao Misogi Elementary School in Ishikawa, Japan, in 1942. He moved to Dalian Reizen Elementary School in Kwantung Leased Territory of Japan in 1944. He finally attended Kanazawa Ishibiki Elementary School in Ishikawa, Japan, to finish elementary school there in 1948.
He finished Kanazawa Shikindai Junior High School in Ishikawa, Japan, in 1951. Then he finished Kanazawa Kindai Senior High School (presently Kanazawa Commercial High School) in Ishikawa, Japan, in 1954.
After that, he began to study science at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, getting the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1958. He continued his study at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, to become a Master of Science in 1960. He got the degree of Doctor of Science from Kyoto University by submitting the paper "Backscattering of electrons from 3.2 to 14 MeV" in 1967.
Just after getting the degree of Master of Science by studying experimental nuclear physics, Tabata began to work at the Radiation Center of Osaka Prefecture (RCOP), Sakai, Osaka, Japan, in 1960, mainly in the field of radiation physics. He continued working there until 1990.
In 1990, RCOP became Research Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Osaka Prefecture University, and Tabata became a professor there. In 1999, he retired and became an emeritus professor.
After his official retirement, he established two virtual institutes of his own, the Institute of Data Evaluation and Analysis (IDEA) and the Institute of Scientific And Artistic Cultures (ISAAC), and published many digital technical reports there.
He was a cooperative researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Nagoya University, 1981-1983, a part-time researcher at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (presently Japan Atomic Energy Agency), Ibaraki, Japan, 1984-1999, and a consultant at Osaka Nuclear Science Association, Osaka, Japan, 2000-2016.
In 2019, he got the title of Emeritus Academician-secretary of the department of Japan, International Mariinskaya Akademy, named after M. D. Shapovalenko.
He served on the following inter-institution committees:
• Committee membership starting 1980-1985
Plasma-Wall Interaction Working Committee, Planning and Information Center, Institute of Plasma Physics, Nagoya University, 1980-1988; Research Promotion Committee on Surface/Interface Control Technology for Developing High-Performance Materials, Science and Technology Agency, 1984-1986; Atomic and Molecular Data Research Committee, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1984-1999; Low-Energy Electron Beam Dose Measurement Committee, Radiation Application Development Association, 1985-1988; Social Functions Committee, Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, 1985-1993
• Committee membership starting 1987-1989
Research Committee for the Application of Ion Engineering, Osaka Science and Technology Center, 1987-1988; Organizing Committee for the Conference on Radiation Curing Asia, 1988-1989; Research Committee for Re-evaluation of Irradiation Effects, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1988-1992; Organizing Committee for RadTech Asia '91, RadTech Research Association, 1989-1991; Executive Committee for RadTech Asia '91, RadTech Research Association, 1989-1991
• Committee membership starting 1991-1996
Research Committee for High-Dose Measurement, Radiation Application Development Association, 1991-1996; Organizing Committee for RadTech Asia '93, RadTech Research Association, 1992-1993; Research Committee for New Radiation Application Research, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1992-1996; and Research Committee for Radiation Micro Dynamics, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1996-1998.
(Tabata and his coworkers have made an equation to express...)
1972
Religion
Tabata was born into a Buddhist family, like many Japanese born before the end of World War II. However, he likes the words of Albert Einstein: I believe in Spinoza’s God. Thus, he has a similar attitude toward religion as Einstein.
Politics
Tabata was sympathetic to the movement of the “Article 9 Association,” which strived to shine the light of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan upon the turbulent world to join hands with the peace-seeking citizens of the world. Thus, he was one of the proposers of the Sakai Article 9 Association in 2005 and the representative of the Fukuizumi-Otori Article 9 Association from 2006 to 2018.
Views
From his junior high school days, Tabata liked Ralph Waldo Emerson's words: In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him. So, he has kept the attitude of learning from any person he meets.
Quotations:
"To be a stray sheep might be one of the privileges of the youth." — "Vicky: A Novella" in Tabata's book "Passage through Spacetime."
"Dr. Hideki Yukawa once wrote an essay, "Two roads into one." The two roads meant his research and the work of saving human beings from destruction. We can continue our work happily and meaningfully only in peace. Therefore, everyone needs to unite each one's two roads. For our happy work and a peaceful future of the world, let us strive together to protect Article 9 of the Constitution." — Tabata's opening remarks at "The Gathering of Citizens to Protect Article 9 of the Constitution, Sakai, Osaka" in 2007 (http://www.9-jo.jp/news/MagShousai/MMS070201.htm).
Membership
Tabata actively joined many academic and nonacademic societies and groups, as shown below:
American Physical Society
,
United States
1971 - 2018
Physical Society of Japan
,
Japan
1958 - 2019
Japan Society of Applied Physics
,
Japan
1965 - 1999
Japanese Society of Radiation Chemistry
,
Japan
1992 - 1999
Japanese Association of Radiological Physicists
,
Japan
1988 - 1999
Atomic Energy Society of Japan
,
Japan
1984 - 1999
Japanese Scientists Association
,
Japan
Citizens' Association for Fostering the Culture of Sakai
,
Japan
1974 - 2022
Friends of Tuva Japan
,
Japan
1994 - 1998
Citizens’ Group to Study Hideki Yukawa
,
Japan
2006 - 2010
Gakushikai (The University Graduates’ Society)
,
Japan
RadTech Research Association
,
Japan
1990 - 1994
Personality
Tabata had two older brothers and one older sister, but they all died when they were young. Thus, he grew up like an only child and attached importance to friendship.
Physical Characteristics:
His height (1.63 m) and weight (62 kg) are those of the average Japanese in his generation.
Quotes from others about the person
"The author [Tatsuo Tabata] is a competent experimentalist, and the work appears to be carefully and painstakingly done." — Referee's report on Tabata's paper "Backscattering of electrons from 3.2 to 14 MeV" submitted to the journal "The Physical Review" and published in it in 1967.
"Tabata-san is a living national treasure in making empirical formulas." — Yohta Nakai, who worked at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan, and published some papers with Tabata, used to say these words.
"[This volume] is a valuable, scholarly, and practical resource for both the experienced researcher and the advanced student in radiation physics." — John Hubbell, Foreword in "Selected Papers of Tatsuo Tabata and His Coworkers Vol. 2." (Though referring to his book, these words reflect Tabata's attitude toward research.)
In 1960, Tatsuo Tabata completed the master's course at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science and joined the newly established Radiation Center of Osaka Prefecture (RCOP). With the cooperation of his seniors and colleagues at this institute and using a state-of-the-art linear electron accelerator, he developed measurement and monitoring methods for electron beams. He also did experiments on the interactions of electrons with matter in bulk, making many contributions to lay the groundwork for the RCOP to be called "a mecca for electron beam research." In 1967, he was awarded a Doctor of Science degree from Kyoto University for his research on the measurement of the backscattering of electrons by a unique method, with which he pointed out gross errors in the backscattering results reported by an American researcher. After that, he opened up a new field of obtaining various quantities related to the interactions between electrons and heterogeneous materials, including layered structures, using semi-empirical models. Applying the same method to ion-solid interactions and atomic and molecular collisions, he proposed many semi-empirical formulas and received high praise. In 1990, he became a professor at Research Institute Attached to Osaka Prefecture University, which they established by integrating RCOP into Osaka Prefecture University and renamed the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in 1995. Since 1996, he has also been a professor at the university's Graduate School of Integrated Sciences and the Graduate School of Science, developing research and education there. He has actively conducted joint research with researchers in many countries, including Western countries and the United States. He published papers in many fields, such as physics, applied physics, nuclear engineering, computers, biology, and psychology. The citation frequency of these papers is high. Thus, he fully achieved the purpose of the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, namely, "internationality and interdisciplinarity." — Quoted from "Professor Tatsuo Tabata Retirement Commemorative Project Prospectus" (1999) prepared by the Organizers of the project headed by Ryuichiro Oshima
The prize is for the best and most promising high school students in science in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The provider is the Doctor Jokichi Takamine Memorial Association. Tabata got it in 1954 before finishing senior high school.
The prize is for the best and most promising high school students in science in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The provider is the Doctor Jokichi Takamine Memorial Association. Tabata got it in 1954 before finishing senior high school.
Grant for Defect Detection by Electron Beams,
Japan
A grant from Special Coordination Funds for the Promotion of Science and Technology, provided by the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government, 1982-1985, to the group consisting of Tatsuo Tabata, Shuichi Okuda, and Takeyoshi Seiyama
A grant from Special Coordination Funds for the Promotion of Science and Technology, provided by the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government, 1982-1985, to the group consisting of Tatsuo Tabata, Shuichi Okuda, and Takeyoshi Seiyama
20 Years Continuous Service Testimonial,
Japan
Provided by the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, 1980
Provided by the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, 1980
30 Years Continuous Service Testimonial,
Japan
Provided by the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, 1991
Provided by the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, 1991