History of YITP

Origin

Prof. Hideki Yukawa (1949)

The history of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (former Research Institute for Fundamental Physics) goes back to 1949 when Hideki Yukawa of Kyoto University (then staying at Columbia University) was awarded the first Nobel Prize for a Japanese citizen. To commemorate this historic event, the president of Kyoto University immediately proposed to create a memorial hall on campus for Yukawa. In 1950, the Science Council of Japan unanimously resolved a request to the central government to allocate a special funding for the promotion of research in theoretical physics. Enthusiastic discussions among physicists from all over the country followed in support for the idea of creating a new institution, similar to the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen or the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Yukawa Hall was inaugurated in 1952 and in the following year (1953) it became the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP). Yukawa was appointed as the first director of the institute and led the institute until his retirement in 1970.

Period of RIFP (1953-1990)

Hideki Yukawa, seated at the center, and his colleagues. To his right are S. Tomonaga and S. Sakata. A picture taken in 1954 in front of the entrance of the Yukawa Hall.

RIFP (Research Institute for Fundamental Physics) was a new type of national research center for theoretical physics with its facilities open for use for research collaborations by the entire community of theoretical physicists in Japan. The institute adopted a new system for its operation: although it formally belongs to Kyoto University, its basic policy has been discussed and decided by the representatives of physicists elected from all over the country together with institute's own academic staffs. One of the unique roles played by the institute was to provide a forum for physicists on various problems at the forefront of research in theoretical physics. Many physicists participated in the organization of topical workshops and international conferences at RIFP and stayed at the institute for some periods to work in collaboration with others. These traditions are still carried by the Yukawa Institute.

Yukawa's institute started with four academic staffs including Yukawa himself. The size of the institute grew gradually and the institute possessed thirteen academic positions in 1961. The research activity of the institute extended over many major areas of theoretical physics, such as field theory, particle theory, nuclear theory, statistical mechanics, condensed matter theory, and nuclear and relativistic astrophysics. In 1980 it added two more academic positions for new research areas such as non-equilibrium statistical physics and non-linear physics. Also one visiting professor position was created during this period to invite distinguished foreign physicists for an extended period.

Unification with RITP in Hiroshima (1990)

Research Institute for Theoretical Physics in Takehara (1948 - 1990)

A major expansion of the institute took place in 1990 when it was joined by all academic staff members of the Research Institute for Theoretical Physics (RITP) of Hiroshima University. RITP was founded in 1944 by Yoshitaka Mimura for the research of mathematical foundations of theoretical physics. On the tragic day of August 6, 1945, it lost two faculty members and a supporting staff, together with all its facilities, by the blast of the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima.

RITP was re-established in 1948 in Takehara, a quiet suburban town of Hiroshima near the water, and stayed there until it was dissolved by the unification in 1990. At the time of the unification, RITP had ten academic staffs and its research area had expanded to include cosmology, general relativity, field theory, and particle theory. The new English name, the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, was adopted after the unification of two institutions.

From Kitashirakawa-Uji period to the present YITP

Uji Research Center (1990 - 1995)

By the expansion of 1990 the size of the institute almost doubled in terms of the number of its own academic staffs. Unfortunately Yukawa Hall had no extra office or library space to accommodate the new members of the institute and the library assets from RITP. Temporary settings for new offices and library was arranged in the Uji campus of Kyoto University which is located about 20 km south of Yukawa Hall. Yukawa Institute thus became distributed over two distantly located buildings: Yukawa Hall on the Kitashirakawa campus and the Uji Research Center on the Uji campus.

This inconvenient situation of having two geographically separated facilities of the institute ended in 1995 by the completion of the new building of the Yukawa Institute, constructed next to Yukawa Hall. The Uji Research Center was closed at this time. The new building now houses the offices of all 22 academic staffs as well as those for visitors, postdoctoral fellows, students and supporting staffs in addition to the new large library and computing facilities. Yukawa Hall is still used for research conferences and workshops organized by the Yukawa Institute besides use for its administrative offices, including Director's, and for the editorial office of the Progress of Theoretical Physics, a journal of theoretical physics founded by Yukawa in 1946.

[left] Main building (1996-)
[right] Yukawa Hall (old building 1952-) and the statue of Prof. Yukawa at the center.

Chronolog

Directors of YITP