Kosuke Morita

Kōsuke Morita (Japanese: 森田 浩介 Hepburn: Morita Kōsukee, born January 23, 1957) is a Japanese experimental nuclear physicist, known as the leader of the Japanese team that discovered nihonium (element 113). He currently holds a joint appointment as a professor at Kyushu University’s Graduate School of Science and as director of the Super Heavy Element Research Group at Riken's Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science.

Professional life Kōsuke Morita is a Japanese physicist specializing in experimental nuclear physics. He was born in 1957 in the city of Kitakyushu (北九州), located in the prefecture of Fukuoka. In 1979 he graduated from Kyushu University, where he would continue pursuing graduate studies. In 1984, he left Kyushu University after completing the doctoral program without receiving a degree. In an interview, Morita was asked why he left without finishing his PhD thesis. He responded, “The reason was simple: I did not have the talent to finish it". However, he returned to Kyushu University to complete his thesis in 1993, 9 years after beginning graduate studies.

Research achievements

Synthesis of nihonium Element 113 was first synthesized in 2004 by the Superheavy Element Production Team at Riken, under direction of Kōsuke Morita. The element was synthesized using a cold fusion approach, making it the heaviest element discovered using this production method. Synthesis of element 113 was accomplished by bombardment of a 209Bi target with 70Zn projectiles using a beam energy of 352.6 MeV. This achievement was officially recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry on December 31, 2015, granting Morita's team the element's naming rights. Nihonium is currently the only element to have been discovered by an Asian team.

The team currently aims to discover element 119, whose provisional name is ununennium.

Work and education

1972 – Graduates from Beppu Municipal Central Junior High School (別府市中部中学校). 1975 – Graduates from Beppu Tsurumi Hill High School (別府鶴見丘高等学校) in Oita prefecture (大分県立). 2017 - Asahi Prize (朝日賞). 2017 - Asian Scientist 100, Asian Scientist