Rate My Professor Yoshito Tanaka

Professor Yoshito Y. Tanaka is a professor at the Research Institute for Electronic Science at Hokkaido University, where he leads the Laboratory of Nanosystem Optical Manipulation. His research centers on nanophotonics, plasmonics, metamaterials, and the optical manipulation of nanostructures, with a focus on optical forces and torques. He previously served as an assistant professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, from 2015 to 2023 before joining Hokkaido University as professor in 2023.

Tanaka earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Osaka University. He has contributed to advancements in understanding light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, including the development of a novel 'micro-drone' measurement platform for three-dimensional characterization of optical forces and torques. A key recent publication is the 2026 paper 'Transverse Optical Torque observed at the Nanoscale' in Nature Physics, co-authored with Ryoma Fukuhara and Tsutomu Shimura. His work explores phenomena such as transverse optical torque and the role of optical helicity in nanoscale systems. Tanaka maintains an active research profile with numerous publications in the fields of photonics and optical science.