Yukawa Institute For Theoretical Physics - Early History

Early History

In 1949, Japanese theoretical physicist Hideki Yukawa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He became the first Japanese citizen to receive the Nobel Prize. 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 Japanese physicists 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, New Jersey.

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