Professor Masakazu Sugiyama

Masakazu Sugiyama is a Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo. He received the B.E., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Systems Engineering, all from the University of Tokyo, Japan, in 1995, 1997, and 2000, respectively. In 2000, he became a Research Associate at the Department of Chemical System Engineering, the University of Tokyo. In 2002, he joined the Department of Electronic Engineering as a Lecturer. He became an Associate Professor in 2005. In 2016, he was promoted to a full professor and then moved to RCAST in 2017.

His major research topics are high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) devices using the
nano-epitaxial structures of III-V compound semiconductors. He is a recognised leader in the sustainable conversion of solar energy to next-generation fuels through use of leading-edge photovoltaics and compound semiconductors. More recently, he has demonstrated the highest level of infield solar conversion efficiency using electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water. He organises a Social Cooperation Research Unit “A Global Network of Renewable Fuels” and serves as a hydrogen envoy of Queensland state government, Australia. In 2020, he was appointed as a programme manager of the Japanese MOOMSHOT programme, aiming to realise CO₂ capture and conversion to chemical feedstocks driven by renewable electricity. He has authored and coauthored 290 refereed journal publications and 505 international conference papers.