Hidetoshi Nishimori, originally from Kochi, Japan, received his B.S. (1977), M.S. (1979), and D. Sc. (1982) in physics from the University of Tokyo, where his doctoral work introduced the celebrated “Nishimori line” in the theory of spin glasses. After postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University and Rutgers University in the United States, he joined the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1984. He served as professor, later as dean of the Faculty of Science, and is now professor emeritus and specially appointed professor of the Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology).
His research spans statistical physics, disordered systems, and quantum information, making key contributions like finding exact solutions to the spin glass problem and proposing quantum annealing as a computational paradigm. He has received numerous honors, such as the IBM Science Prize (1990), the Nishina Memorial Prize (2006), the C&C Prize (2018), the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2021), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2021), the Ichimura Prize in Science (2024), and the Physical Society of Japan Paper Award (2025). Outside of physics, he is an avid listener of classical music, particularly the works of Beethoven and Bach.