Hiroshi Tamiya

was an important Japanese plant biochemist and microbiologist. He is notable for mid-twentieth century research he did on the thermodynamics of the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis.

Life Tamiya was a student of Keita Shibata, a plant physiologist, as a student at Tokyo University. Andrew Benson, who was instrumental in understanding carbon fixation in plants considered Tamiya inspirational in his own success as a scientist. The mission was largely in response to the destruction of cyclotrons by the United States Army acting out of fear the Japanese had been researching and developing a nuclear weapon during the war. Tamiya was able with it to culture algal cell lines that were all in the same developmental stage, a technique used by later scientists to decipher the life cycles of other single celled eukaryotic organisms. In 1977 he was given the Japanese Order of Culture for his contributions to science in Japan.