History of SEMRL: Kishio Laboratory

In a paper contributed in spring 1986, J. G. Bednorz and K. A. Muller who worked at IBM Zurich suggested "Possibility of High Tc Superconductivity in Ba-La-Cu-O System", which led them to the glorious Nobel prize in October 1987. This suggestion was confirmed by the members of Shoji Tanaka and Kazuo Fueki laboratories, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. Next February, M. K. Wu at Alabama University discovered cuprates, YBaCuO series, whose critical temperatures surpassed the liquid nitrogen, which brought the "Superconductivity Fever" to all over the world. At this early stage, hard research works at the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, and Institute for Solid State Physics, contributed to the worldwide development of this field substantially.

Then, in April 1990, "Superconductivity Engineering" Special Study Course (Department of Superconductivity) was established in Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School, University of Tokyo, as the graduate school special course for the first time in Japan. Department of Superconductivity had the wide links with many other courses, and was mainly held by professors and students of graduate school courses such as Applied Physics, Applied Chemistry, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Metallurgy and Materials Science. Since then, the department has been covering larger subjects of researches than the conventional ones, such as solid state physics, materials science, device engineering, science of measurements, circuit engineering, electromagnetic dynamics, as well as superconductivity. Our "SEMRL" laboratory was newly born at the same time when the department was established.

The Department of Superconductivity completed its formal role in March 2005 and was succeeded by the departments of Applied Chemistry, Applied Physics, etc. However, the studies on cuprate superconductors were still leading the fields of basic science and technological applications. After year 2000, we expanded our research fields into non-oxide superconductors, thermoelectric oxides and colossal magnetoresistance oxides, using our knowledge and experience of material engineering, chemistry and single crystal growth, and the microstructure of materials. In March of 2017, the laboratory (and its equipment) itself was formally closed along with the official retirement of Prof. Kishio from U. Tokyo, while the present SEMRL site has been maintained on the Internet Web. and continuously transmitting relevant updated information.

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