Prof Keizo Akutagawa was made an honorary fellow of QMUL during the SEMS graduation in July 2025. Keizo first joined Queen Mary in 1992 as a PhD student funded by Bridgestone, Japan. He studied alongside James Busfield in the Soft Matter Group, and his resulting research led to many innovations that were exploited by Bridgestone after Keizo had graduated and returned to Japan in 1995. This included helping Bridgestone develop lower fuel consumption tyres and helping them become the first Japanese manufacturer to become a Formula One tyre supplier. Keizo has been responsible for many patents in his career, and he has continued to support Queen Mary by funding PhD studentships and instigating an annual donation by Bridgestone.

In 2020, Keizo joined Queen Mary as a voluntary Visiting Professor whilst taking up a role at Aston Martin F1. Under his influence, Aston Martin has funded two PhD studentships. Since 2020, Keizo has supported the projects of more than 20 PhD or post-doctoral researchers in the Soft Matter Group and taught 6 different student industry case studies in design modules for hundreds of SEMS students.

James Busfield said during Keizo’s induction “That throughout all of these interactions he has been the very model of the perfect student, alumni, ambassador and now visiting professor for Queen Mary, over more than a third of a century. This honorary fellowship is a very fitting way to recognise Keizo's contribution to the QMUL community.”