Rate My Professor Takuzo Aida

Takuzo Aida is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Tokyo. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in physical chemistry from Yokohama National University in 1979, followed by a Master of Engineering in 1981 and a Doctor of Engineering in 1984 from the University of Tokyo, where he studied under Shohei Inoue. After completing his doctorate, Aida joined the University of Tokyo as a research assistant in 1984, advancing to lecturer in 1989, associate professor in 1991, and full professor in 1996. In 2022, he was designated a Distinguished University Professor. He also holds a concurrent position as deputy director of the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, where he has served since 2013, following earlier roles including director of the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute from 2008 to 2012.

Aida specializes in polymer chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and materials chemistry, with research focused on supramolecular polymers, self-assembly, controlled polymerization, and functional materials such as self-healing polymers and conductive nanostructures. His contributions include the development of immortal polymerization in 1988, self-assembled graphitic nanotubes from hexabenzocoronene derivatives, chain-growth supramolecular polymerization in 2015, and mechanically robust self-repairable polymers in 2018. He has received numerous honors, including the Chemical Society of Japan Award in 2008, the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry in 2009, the Humboldt Research Award in 2011, the Japan Academy Prize in 2018, and election as a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020, a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2021, and an international honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023. Aida has served on the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science since 2009.