The 2026 Masao Horiba Awards will begin accepting applications on March 18. HORIBA, Ltd. (hereinafter, “HORIBA”) started this annual research promotion award in 2003. The 2026 theme is “Analysis and Measurement Technologies for Advanced Materials Contributing to a High-Efficiency Energy Society.”
Every year, the awards attract numerous researchers who submit applications based on a new theme, and this award especially encourages young researchers and engineers. Through this award, we hope to support future leaders who conducting innovative and unique research and further advance the development of analytical and measurement technologies. We look forward to receiving applications from proactive researchers and engineers who pursue their work while following our corporate motto of “Joy and Fun.”
Target Technical Fields
The award recognizes outstanding research in analytical and measurement technologies used in the R&D and manufacturing of energy-related devices and materials, including power semiconductors and batteries.
- Power semiconductors that enable highly efficient power control and conversion under high-current and high-voltage operating conditions.
- Rechargeable (secondary) batteries used across a wide range of applications, and all-solid-state batteries with improved safety and reliability.
- Fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and solar cells that support the diversification of energy sources.
Application Guidelines
Eligible Applicants : Early-career researchers affiliated with universities or public research institutions in Japan or overseas whose achievements have not yet received broad recognition in the field.
Eligible Research : Research on analytical and measurement technologies for advanced materials that contribute to a high-efficiency energy society.
Application Period : March 18 to May 12, 2026
Review Method : The screening committee will select the 2026 award recipients based on the achievements and future potential demonstrated in the submitted materials.
Results Announcement : Late July 2026 (tentative)
Award : Recipients will receive a certificate and a monetary prize. Each recipient will receive JPY 2,000,000 (JPY 1,000,000 per year for two years). Eligibility requirements must be continuously met throughout the two-year period.
Award Ceremony and Commemorative Seminar : Thursday, October 15, 2026, at Kyoto University. Recipients will deliver public-facing presentations and participate in discussions.
How to apply : For documents to submit and other application details, please visit www.mh-award.org/en/.
Contact：Masao Horiba Awards Office, HORIBA, Ltd.
2, Miyanohigashi, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto, 601-8510
TEL: +81-(0)75-325-5110 / E-mail: info(at)mh-award.org
Screening Committee for the 2026 Masao Horiba Awards
<Chairperson>
Masahiro Tatsumisago
Executive Advisor, Professor Emeritus
Osaka Metropolitan University
<Judges>
Hiroshige Matsumoto
Professor
International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I²CNER)
Kyushu University
Atsushi Wakamiya
Professor
Institute for Chemical Research
Kyoto University
Assistant to the Executive Vice-President / Deputy Provost
Kyoto University
Akio Wakejima
Professor
Institute of Semiconductor and Digital Technologies
Kumamoto University
Eric A. Stach
Professor
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
Jon-In Shim
Professor Emeritus, Hanyang University
Masaki Inoue
Assistant General Manager
Research & Development Division
HORIBA STEC, Co., Ltd.
Seiji Higuchi
Department Manager
Materials Solution Dept., Materials & Semiconductor Technology Division
HORIBA, Ltd.
Organizers of 2026 Masao Horiba Award
<Award Director>
Atsushi Horiba
Chairman & Group CEO
HORIBA, Ltd.
<Chief of the Organizing Committee >
Masayuki Adachi
President
HORIBA, Ltd.
<Vice Chief of the Organizing Committee>
Hiroshi Nakamura
Senior Corporate Officer, Chief Technology Officer
HORIBA, Ltd.
Eligible Fields and Background of the 2026 Masao Horiba Awards
As the world moves toward the major societal goal of carbon neutrality, the importance of the technological foundations that support the power system as a whole is increasing, driven by the expanded deployment of renewable energy and the advancement of electrification. In recent years, it has also been pointed out that electricity demand may rise rapidly, against the backdrop of accelerated social implementation of AI, the construction of additional data centers, and the upgrading of communications infrastructures. Accordingly, technological innovation that can achieve both a stable energy supply and a reduced environmental burden is urgently needed. In particular, improving the efficiency and reliability of energy conversion and storage devices is key to achieving both energy savings and CO₂ emissions reductions, and there is a strong demand for advances in materials development and manufacturing processes. Energy devices such as power semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and solar cells are attracting even greater expectations as next-generation foundational technologies for society.
There is a need for materials and semiconductor process technologies that enable highly efficient power control and conversion under high-voltage and high-frequency operations in the field of power semiconductors, where applications are anticipated across a wide range of areas, including power infrastructure, industrial equipment, and electric vehicles. Accordingly, in addition to wide-bandgap semiconductor materials such as SiC (silicon carbide), GaN (gallium nitride), Ga₂O₃ (gallium oxide), and diamond, the development of analytical and measurement technologies that support their crystal growth and device processing is becoming increasingly important.
In the field of energy storage, secondary batteries—centered on lithium-ion batteries—have become widely prevalent in virtually all devices around us. In recent years, to improve energy density, safety, and durability, research and development on solid electrolytes and cathode/anode materials has intensified toward the practical implementation of all-solid-state batteries. Materials research is progressing in the field of power generation as well, to improve performance and durability, including catalysts and electrolyte membranes used in fuel cells and water electrolyzers, and film materials for perovskite solar cells, in pursuit of diversified energy sources. The advancement of analytical and measurement technologies is also indispensable for the development of these materials, including electrodes and membrane materials.
In light of the above, this award focuses on research into analytical and measurement technologies that support the realization and advancement of materials development and manufacturing processes contributing to higher performance and improved reliability of energy-related devices. We have therefore set the theme of the 2026 Masao Horiba Award as “Analytical and Measurement Technologies for Advanced Materials Contributing to a High-Efficiency Energy Society.” We sincerely look forward to applications from early-career researchers and engineers who share this vision.
About Masao Horiba Awards
Background:
HORIBA Group’s history begins with our trail-blazing founder, Masao Horiba, whose initial venture was the first domestic development of the glass electrode pH meter when he was still a university student. Ever since then, we have expanded our business globally to become a manufacturer of a comprehensive line of analytical instruments while also expanding analysis into liquids, gases, and solids. Collaboration with universities and research institutions has been one of the ways we have supported this development since our company’s founding. The steady efforts of the researchers and engineers who work on our fundamental research have continued to be a driving force in our growth. Having entered into the 21st century, we founded the Masao Horiba Awards in 2003, named after our founder, to support the academic research and development which will be the source of new enterprises and commercial endeavors in the fields of analytical and measurement instrument technology, as its social significance continues to grow.
Purpose:
This award supports emerging researchers and engineers, both in Japan and overseas, engaged in research and development expected to create innovative analytical and measurement technologies that will further enhance scientific value in that technological field. Choosing a different field each year allows us to focus on research and development with results and future development potential on a global scale. We are seeking proactive participants who understand the “Joy and Fun” of research and development in the target area, from fundamental to application, and who will also be key players in the future development of analytical and measurement technology.
Our late founder, Masao Horiba:
Masao Horiba pioneered his own venture, Horiba Radio Laboratory, in October 1945 while still a student at the Faculty of Science at Kyoto Imperial University (now Kyoto University). He majored in nuclear physics, and just like his father and professor, Shinkichi Horiba, he had intended to remain at the university and became a researcher after graduation. At this time, however, the end of World War II saw the US military destroying cyclotrons and taking other steps to prevent and prohibit nuclear research and experiments, so Masao was unable to continue his university research. This led to the decision to establish a private laboratory where one might conduct experiments and research freely, which is how our company came to be founded.
Horiba Radio Laboratory was incorporated as a company in January 1953, and Masao assumed the role of president. The initial plan had been to develop and commercialize electrolytic capacitors, but this plan was aborted due to inflation caused by the Korean War. Instead, the pH meter developed for capacitor production was sold as a product, and renamed to HORIBA, Ltd. as known today. The company then continued to develop new pH meters, one after another in cooperation with universities. In 1978, at the age of 53, Masao assumed the role of chairman, and our current philosophy of “Joy and Fun” was established as the company motto.
After taking office as chairman, Masao also worked to support domestic small-to-medium enterprises and startups in an active way to revitalize Kyoto. He also worked towards the fundamental education reforms needed to usher in the future generations of trailblazers. For his contributions to developments in the field of analytical sciences as an entrepreneur who launched a global measuring instrument business with products that support research and technological breakthroughs globally, Masao was the first non-American to be honored with the Pittcon Heritage Award in March 2006 and was entered into the USA’s Pittcon Hall of Fame (for Analytical Chemistry). At the age of 90, Masao passed away in July 2015.
