About Shimadzu

On October 9^th, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry to 43-year-old Koichi Tanaka, a Life Science Laboratory assistant manager in the Life Science Business Unit of the Analytical & Measuring Instruments Division of Shimadzu Corporation, professor John B. Fenn (aged 85) of Virginia Commonwealth University and professor Kurt Wuthrich (aged 64) of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, a visiting professor at the Scripps Research Institute in USA.

Tanaka and Fenn are to receive half of the prize for their development of soft desorption ionization methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules to identify and reveal the structures of such molecules. Tanaka is the 12th Japanese citizen to receive a Nobel Prize.

At 9:00pm on October 9^th, TV viewers witnessed the total astonishment of Koichi Tanaka as he related the news of receiving the Nobel Prize at a press conference held at the head office of Shimadzu Corporation in Kyoto.

Away on overseas business, Shimadzu president Hidetoshi Yajima rejoiced by saying that he was both surprised and thrilled upon hearing the good news, and that the prize is a tribute to Shimadzu's technology; moreover, he cannot wait to congratulate Koichi Tanaka.

Koichi Tanaka

Birth Date :

August 3^rd 1959

Education :

Degree in Engineering from Tohoku University in 1983

Career

April 1^st, 1983 :

Joined Shimadzu and entered Central Research Laboratory

January 1992 :

Seconded to Kratos Group PLC.^*1 in UK

December 1992 :

Joined R&D Dept. of Analytical Instruments Division in Japan

April 1997 :

Seconded to Shimadzu Research Laboratory (Europe) LTD.^*2 in UK

December 1999 :

Seconded to Kratos Group PLC. in UK

May 2002 :

Joins Life Science Laboratory in Japan

*1 UK based Kratos Group PLC. (Wholly owned subsidiary of Shimadzu)
Wharfside, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester, M17 1GP, UK

*2 UK based Shimadzu Research Laboratory (Europe) LTD. (Wholly owned subsidiary of Shimadzu)