astronomy

Masato Sagawa

Masato Sagawa is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Masato Sagawa rather than just read about it. In short: Masato Sagawa (佐川眞人; born August 3, 1943, in Tokushima, Japan) is a Japanese scientist and entrepreneur, and the inventor of the sintered permanent neodymium magnet (NdFeB). Sagawa was awarded the Japan Prize and IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for his efforts.

Key takeaways

Masato Sagawa belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Masato Sagawa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Masato Sagawa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Masato Sagawa (佐川眞人; born August 3, 1943, in Tokushima, Japan) is a Japanese scientist and entrepreneur, and the inventor of the sintered permanent neodymium magnet (NdFeB). Sagawa was awarded the Japan Prize and IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for his efforts.

Career Sagawa initially conceived and developed the sintered NdFeB when he was with Fujitsu Laboratories, where he worked from 1972 to 1982. Lacking his supervisor's support for the new magnetic compound, Sagawa resigned in 1981, joining Sumitomo Special Metals. Shortly after joining Sumitomo he had developed the NdFeB magnet. Sagawa presented the new discovery of NdFeB magnet during the Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference in November 1983 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During this same time period, John Croat from General Motors (GM) had independently discovered the same Nd2Fe14B compound. In 1988, Sagawa founded Intermetallics, a research and development company devoted to the development of neodymium magnets. Sagawa founded NDFEB Corporation in 2012, where he is currently president. Sagawa has worked on improving the NdFeB magnetic materials' magnetic properties, with over 60 patents for his work related to NdFeB. The 2022 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering was awarded to him for the discovery, development and global commercialisation of the neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) magnet.

Major awards and honors 1986 - James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials 1990 - Asahi Prize 2012 - Japan Prize 2016 - Nagamori Award 2018 - NIMS Award 2018 2019 - Yildirim International Entrepreneurship Award from FLOGEN Star Outreach 2022 - IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies 2022 - Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 2023 - Honda Prize 2023 - IUPAP Magnetism Award and Néel Medal, Germany 2024 - European Inventor Award

References

External links Speech at Tohoku University on Jan 27, 2014 History of Rare Earth Magnets 2012 (28th) Japan Prize: Dr. Sagawa 2012 Japan Prize Commemorative Lectures : Dr. Sagawa / Laureates of the Japan Prize: Masato Sagawa, Dr. Eng. / Inventing the Sintered NdFeB Magnets / Japan Prize Press Room / Yildrim International Entrepreneurship Award / Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering honours magnet pioneer

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Masato Sagawa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Masato Sagawa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Masato Sagawa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Masato Sagawa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Masato Sagawa

In research: Masato Sagawa appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Masato Sagawa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Masato Sagawa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1943 births, Japanese materials scientists, Kobe University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Masato Sagawa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Masato Sagawa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Masato Sagawa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Masato Sagawa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Masato Sagawa in simple terms?

Why does Masato Sagawa matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Masato Sagawa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Masato Sagawa.