2013 Buessem Award Recipient
Takeshi Nomura was born in Hokkaidoh, Japan. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from Keio University (1975, 1977, and 1980, respectively). Upon receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Nomura was hired as a ceramist at the Materials Research Center of TDK Corporation in Chiba, Japan. During his career at TDK, he served as Director between 1998 and 2007, and as Senior Vice President 2002-2009, retiring from TDK in 2013. He has made major contributions to the development of base metal capacitor technology, BL capacitors, PTC thermistors, actuators, varistors, and in ferrite inductor technology. Not only did his insight lead to high performance devices, he also contributed to basic scientific knowledge in dielectric aging and defect chemistry.
Throughout Dr. Nomura’s career, he has also shared his expertise with new generations of researcher by serving as a part-time lecturer at several Japanese universities: Chiba University (Solid-State Chemistry, 1984-1985), Yokohama National University (Magnetic Materials, 1992-1993), Yamagata University (Advanced Ceramics, 1993-1994), Tokyo Institute of Technology (Magnetic Materials, 1995-1996), Keio University (Electronic Materials, 1996-2007), Tohoku University (Electronic Materials, (1998-2011), and Shonan Institute of Technology (Advanced Ceramics, 2000-2005). He was also a Visiting Professor at Akita University in 2001-2002.
Dr. Nomura is a member of many professional societies, including The American Ceramic Society, The Chemical Society of Japan, The Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy (Vice President, 2004-2005), The Ceramic Society of Japan (Chair of Kanto Regional Div., 2006, and Chair of Electronic Ceramics Div., 2008), The Surface Finishing Society of Japan (Vice President, 2000-2002), The Magnetics Society of Japan, and The Society of Materials Engineering for Resources of Japan (Vice President, 1999-2012). He has been the recipient of many prestigious awards during his career, including the Yamazaki Award (Society of Materials Engineering for Resources of Japan, 1991), JSPM Award for Innovatory Development (The Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy, 1993), The Richard M. Fulrath Pacific Award (American Ceramic Society, 1995), Takayanagi Memorial Recommend Award (Takayanagi Memorial Foundation, 1996), Okochi Memorial Technology Award (Okochi Memorial Foundation, 1998), and JSPM Award for Distinguished Achievements in Development (Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy, 2000).
Upon his retirement in 2013, Takeshi Nomura embarked upon a very busy new career as founder of his own consulting firm, Materials Laboratory of Creative Ceramics (MLCC) in Chiba, Japan.
The Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics honored Dr. Nomura with the 2013 Wilhelm R Buessem Award CDP Award Dinner in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 7, 2013.