https://www.aist.go.jp/index_en.html
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), led by President Chubachi, is a public research institution funded by the Japanese government to a large extent. The present AIST is a rather new research organization established in 2001. However, AIST and its predecessor organizations have been contributing to society through continuous advancement in technologies and support to Japanese industries since 1882.
Headquarters of AIST are located in Tsukuba and Tokyo. AIST has over 40 autonomous research units in various innovative research fields, and the units are located at ten research bases and several sites (smaller than research bases) of AIST all over Japan. About 2300 researchers (about 2000 with tenure: about 80 from abroad) and a few thousands of visiting scientists, post-doctoral fellows, and students from home and abroad are working at AIST. About 650 permanent administrative personnel and many temporary staff support research works of AIST.
AIST was ranked 7th in" Top 20 Japanese research institutions for all field" announced on April 15, 2014, by Thomson Reuters. AIST was also ranked high in category rankings: 5th in chemistry, 5th in materials science, and 7th in biology and biochemistry. The rankings are based on the number of highly cited academic papers published from January 2003 to October 2013.
