Hidetoshi Nishimori received his D.Sc. in physics from the University of Tokyo in 1982. After postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University and Rutgers University, he joined the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1984, where he later served as dean of the School of Science. He is now Professor Emeritus and Specially Appointed Professor at the Institute of Science Tokyo.
His research spans statistical physics, disordered systems, and quantum information. In spin glass theory, he discovered what is now known as the Nishimori line, on which exact results can be derived using gauge symmetry, and later applied these ideas to information processing problems such as error-correcting codes. In 1998, together with Tadashi Kadowaki, he proposed quantum annealing, a method for optimization using quantum fluctuations that is now implemented in commercial quantum devices.
His honors include the IBM Japan Science Prize, the Nishina Memorial Prize, the C&C Prize, the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Medal with Purple Ribbon, the Ichimura Prize in Science, and the Physical Society of Japan Award for Academic Papers on Physics. Outside physics, he is an avid listener of classical music, especially Beethoven and Bach.
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