Hiroshi Matsumoto (engineer)

Hiroshi Matsumoto (松本 紘, Matsumoto Hiroshi; November 17, 1942 – June 15, 2025) was a Japanese engineer and atmospheric scientist. He was the president of Kyoto University until August 2014, and then served as the president of RIKEN until March 2022. He was a member of the Japanese government's committee on space policy. He had a Doctorate in Engineering (1973, Kyoto University). He was born in Zhangjiakou, China.

His research centered on plasma in the geomagnetosphere and cosmosphere. He developed the KEMPO (Kyoto university ElectroMagnetic Particle) code to reproduce the dynamics of the physical processes of space plasma. He led the plasma wave Geotail observations, and helped elucidate mechanisms of excitation, such as electrostatic solitary waves. He also worked on studies for the practical application of microwave power transmission in space. He died on June 15, 2025, aged 82.