Makoto Kobayashi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Makoto Kobayashi
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| 小林 誠 | |
Kobayashi in 2008
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| Born | April 7, 1944 |
| Citizenship | Japan |
| Alma mater | Nagoya University |
| Known for | Work on CP violation< CKM matrix |
| Awards | Sakurai Prize (1985) Japan Academy Prize (1985) Asahi Prize (1995) High Energy and Particle Physics Prize (2007) Nobel Prize in Physics (2008) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | High energy physics (theory) |
| Institutions | Kyoto University High Energy Accelerator Research Organization |
| Doctoral advisor | Shoichi Sakata |
Makoto Kobayashi (小林 誠, Kobayashi Makoto, born April 7, 1944, in Nagoya, Japan) is a Japanese physicist. He is known for his important work on something called CP-violation. This work helped us understand tiny particles better. In 2008, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He shared the prize for discovering how a "broken symmetry" works. This discovery helped predict that there are at least three types of tiny particles called quarks in nature.
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Early Life and Education
Makoto Kobayashi was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1944. When he was two years old, his father passed away. Their family home was destroyed during the bombing of Nagoya in World War II. So, they moved in with his mother's family.
One of Makoto's cousins, Toshiki Kaifu, later became the 51st Prime Minister of Japan. Another cousin, Norio Kaifu, became an astronomer. Toshiki Kaifu remembered Makoto as a quiet boy. He was always reading difficult books.
Makoto Kobayashi studied at Nagoya University. He graduated from the School of Science in 1967. He then earned a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree in 1972. During his university years, he learned from scientists like Shoichi Sakata.
Discoveries and Career
After finishing his studies, Kobayashi started working at Kyoto University in 1972. He focused on particle physics. He worked with his colleague, Toshihide Maskawa. They tried to explain CP-violation using the Standard Model of particle physics.
Their theory suggested there were at least three types, or generations, of quarks. Quarks are very tiny particles that make up matter. This idea was proven true four years later. Scientists discovered the bottom quark.
Kobayashi and Maskawa published their important paper in 1973. It was called "CP Violation in the Renormalizable Theory of Weak Interaction." This paper is one of the most referenced in high energy physics. Their work led to the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix. This matrix helps explain how different quarks mix together.
In 2008, Kobayashi and Maskawa shared half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. The other half went to Yoichiro Nambu. To honor their contributions, bronze statues of three Nobel laureates were set up in Tsukuba City in 2015. These included Shin'ichirō Tomonaga, Leo Esaki, and Makoto Kobayashi.
Kobayashi has held many important positions. He worked as a professor at the National Laboratory of High Energy Physics (KEK). He also served as a director there. Later, he became a distinguished professor at Nagoya University. He also became the director of the Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe (KMI) at Nagoya University.
Awards and Recognition
Makoto Kobayashi has received many awards for his scientific work:
- 1979 – Nishina Memorial Prize
- 1985 – Sakurai Prize
- 1994 – Chunichi Culture Award
- 1995 – Asahi Prize
- 2001 – Person of Cultural Merit
- 2007 – High Energy and Particle Physics Prize by European Physical Society
- 2008 – Nobel Prize in Physics
In October 2008, Kobayashi also received Japan's Order of Culture. This is a very high honor. The awards ceremony was held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. In 2010, he became a member of the Japan Academy.
Personal Life
Kobayashi was born and grew up in Nagoya, Japan. He married Sachiko Enomoto in 1975. They had one son, Junichiro. After his first wife passed away, Kobayashi married Emiko Nakayama in 1990. They have a daughter named Yuka.
See also
In Spanish: Makoto Kobayashi para niños
- Progress of Theoretical Physics
- List of Nobel laureates affiliated with Kyoto University
- List of Japanese Nobel laureates
