Kyoto University Chancellor and award-winning Engineer, Professor Hiroshi Matsumoto points our hopes for new energy sources up to the stars.
Hiroshi Matsumoto
Space radio scientist
Cars. Microwave ovens. Computers. Hair dryers. Lights. All of these are wonderful modern conveniences that we each use every day. However each of these conveniences require electric energy. With our supply and availability of fossil fuels slowly dwindling, one of our biggest modern challenges is to find alternate sources of electric energy. After the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, Hiroshi Matsumoto, chancellor of Kyoto University, knew that Japan—as well as the rest of the world—desperately needed to find solutions to our energy crisis. Matsumoto has a Ph.D. in Engineering and specializes in space radio science, space plasma physics and space solar power transmission. His latest project is called “extraterrestrial electric generation”, also known as the “space photovoltaics framework”. In this process, photovoltaic generation satellites are sent to space, which in turn create energy that is converted to microwaves and sent back to earth. Matsumoto is in the front lines of research in this field. Matsumoto has won numerous awards for his work and has published 133 scientific papers in Japanese, 297 in English and has authored or contributed to several books. Matsumoto’s dedication to finding and perfecting a reliable extraterrestrial power source for our planet is as inspiring as it is vital to the survival of our species. With Matsumoto at the helm of academic research in this field, there is no doubt that a viable solution is on its way.
