Rate My Professor Yoshihito Kawamura

Professor Yoshihito Kawamura serves as Director of the Magnesium Research Center (MRC) at Kumamoto University and holds a professorship in the Faculty of Engineering. He was appointed to the Faculty of Engineering at Kumamoto University in 2000 and has focused his work on materials development to address challenges associated with magnesium alloys. His research centers on alloy and process design of magnesium alloys, with particular emphasis on those containing long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures. In 2001, development began on LPSO-type magnesium alloys using rapidly solidified powder metallurgy methods. By 2003, a cast LPSO-type magnesium alloy known as the KUMADAI heat-resistant magnesium alloy was developed. In 2012, the KUMADAI non-flammable magnesium alloy was introduced. These materials exhibit high strength, heat resistance, and non-flammability, supporting applications in automobiles, aircraft, high-speed railway cars, spacecraft, and medical devices such as stents to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency, and lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The MRC, established in 2011 under Professor Kawamura’s direction, advances basic and applied research on magnesium alloys through interdisciplinary divisions covering materials design, characterization, shape and properties control, and integration. Research includes elucidation of LPSO structure formation mechanisms using techniques such as high-precision HAADF-STEM transmission electron microscopy, revealing polytypic structures like 10H, 18R, 14H, and 24R. Additional efforts address multiscale calculation material design combining first-principles electronic structure calculations and finite element method-based solid dynamics. The center fosters global collaboration via the Yellow Sea Rim Magnesium Network and an open laboratory for joint research, alongside programs supporting international and domestic partnerships with government, industry, and academia. Professor Kawamura’s contributions have positioned Kumamoto University as an international hub for high-performance magnesium alloy development.

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