Fumitaka Sato, professor emeritus at Kyoto University. Photo: Jiji Press
Inspired by Hideki Yukawa, the winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics, Sato began his career as a physicist.
In 1972, when he was an associate professor in the university's faculty of science, Sato, together with Akira Tomimatsu, a graduate student at the time who is now a professor emeritus at Nagoya University, discovered the Tomimatsu-Sato solution to the structure of black holes based on Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
After becoming a professor at Kyoto University in 1974, Sato served as head of the university's Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics and of the science faculty.
He also headed the Physical Society of Japan and the Yukawa Memorial Foundation.
The professor emeritus at Kyoto University wrote many books introducing the beauty of space and physics to general readers.
Sato received the Nishina Memorial Prize in 1973, the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1999, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 2013.
