Masato Sagawa's Magnet Breakthroughs Honored at Chalmers

Chalmers University of Technology has awarded the Lise Meitner Prize to Dr Masato Sagawa for his significant contributions to magnetic materials research. The award recognizes Sagawa's work that enabled the development of high-performance neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) sintered magnets.

Sagawa's physics-based leap in the early 1980s facilitated the creation of powerful Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets. He demonstrated how introducing boron into the material could strengthen the ferromagnetic exchange in the iron lattice, leading to the Nd₂Fe₁₄B compound. This material, combining high magnetization with strong magnetic anisotropy, became the foundation for the world's most powerful permanent magnets. He also established a high-performance processing route using powder metallurgy and grain alignment.

Today, Nd-Fe-B magnets are integral to electrification. They are crucial for the high-efficiency motors and generators powering electric vehicles and wind turbines. The material has also been vital in information technology, enabling compact and high-performance hard disk drive actuators and motors.

Dr. Sagawa will receive the award and deliver the traditional Lise Meitner lecture at Chalmers on September 10. He has stated that he did not initially foresee the immense technological impact of his discovery, recognizing its significance incrementally.