Also called the Award for Eminent Achievements in Nuclear Science and Technology, the award honors individuals who have made “superior achievements over many years or amassed a large amount of work in academic or technical fields related to the peaceful use of atomic energy.”

The award is the highest honor bestowed by the AESJ for scientists in all nuclear science and technology research areas such as neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, materials, waste management, beam science and other areas. Hibiki was cited by the AESJ specifically for his “extensive and outstanding original research contributions to nuclear thermal-hydraulics, instrumentation methods and modeling of two-phase flow.”

Hibiki has been known as one of the leading scientists in nuclear thermal-hydraulics and two-phase flow research. He has authored 218 journal papers, 186 conference papers, one book and five book chapters. One of his papers is ranked No.1 in paper citations among all papers published in the International Journal of Multiphase Flow since 1974. Hibiki’s total paper citations — 9,495 as of February 2017 (Google Scholar) — is ranked No. 2 in the nuclear engineering category, and he has received 10 scientific awards nationally and internationally.