The institute is the oldest of the five research institutes of
Tohoku University. It was started 90 years ago by the late Professor
Kotaro Honda for research on
KS steel. In 1987, it was reorganized into its present form, a national collaborative research institute, and designated as a Center of Excellence (COE) for materials science. IMR's research field is diverse materials as well as metals. Some of its recent creations include new types of materials, including high-performance, high-quality and multifunctional materials such as
amorphous alloys with complex structures, and
bulk metallic glasses developed from them. The institute also specialises in multicomponent intermetallic compounds,
quasicrystals,
oxides,
ceramics, nanostructural controlled metals,
semiconductors, crystals for
solar cells,
biomaterials,
organic materials,
hydrogen storage alloys, and
shaped crystals, among others. ==Former names==