Hiroshi Matsumoto (松本 紘,Matsumoto Hiroshi) (born November 17, 1942) is a Japanese engineer and atmospheric scientist. He serves as the president of RIKEN, and until August 2014 was the president of Kyoto University. He is a member of the Japanese government's committee on space policy. He has a Doctorate in Engineering (1973, Kyoto University). He was born in Zhangjiakou, China.[1]
His research has centered on plasma in the geomagnetosphere and cosmosphere. He developed the KEMPO (Kyoto university ElectroMagnetic Particle) code to reproduce the dynamics of the physical processes of space plasma.[2] He led the plasma wave Geotail observations,[3] and has helped elucidate mechanisms of excitation, such as electrostatic solitary waves. He has also worked on studies for the practical application of microwave power transmission in space.
1975 – "Study of Whistler mode wave particle interaction over the magnetosphere plasma" was awarded the Tanaka-kan Award by the Japan Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences
2006 – Awarded the Yuri Gagarin Medal from the Russian Federation of Cosmonautics
2006 – Awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Science and Technology Award
2007 – Awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal
2008 – Awarded the 2008 Booker Gold Medal from the International Radio Science Union