Catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions with a high degree of efficiency are essential in a wide range of fields, from developing raw materials for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals to producing plastic products. However, as many catalysts rely on relatively expensive and rare precious metals, efforts have been underway to develop alternatives, either by creating catalysts that function with significantly reduced amounts of precious metals or by replacing them entirely with substitute materials. Amid these ongoing efforts, Professor Yusuke Sunada at #UTokyo_IIS has drawn significant attention for developing two innovative catalysts: one that functions with a far smaller volume of precious metals than conventional versions, and another that requires none at all. Recently, Sunada has been applying his precious metal-free catalyst technology to develop new methods of hydrogen production/storage and transportation. How were these groundbreaking catalysts developed, and what potential might they hold for the future? We sat down with Sunada to find out.

Aquaculture currently accounts for approximately 60% of the total global fish production. This proportion has been increasing since the 1990s, highlighting the growing importance of aquaculture. In response to this, Professor Daisuke Kitazawa of #UTokyo_IIS who has long been engaged in ocean-related research such as marine structures and marine energy use, is developing new aquaculture technologies aimed at expanding the areas in Japan where aquaculture is possible. Despite being surrounded by sea, Japan has relatively limited areas suitable for aquaculture, and in recent years, climate change has made conditions even harsher. What technologies are now necessary for aquaculture to continue meeting global demand? We spoke with Kitazawa about the current state and future of aquaculture technologies—and what lies beyond for the ocean and for us.

Here, we present a cross-talk between Associate Professor Kazuyuki Kuroyama and Lecturer Takamasa Tsukamoto, both of whom are from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo. Both researchers also work with nano-materials, but how did they feel about each other's work upon looking into it? In this discussion, they share their candid thoughts, including about their approaches and philosophies as scientists.

Research on nanoparticles has advanced rapidly since the 2000s. However, most studies to date have focused on particles 5 nanometers or larger in size. Against this backdrop, in recent years, increasing attention has been given to atomic clusters—structures approximately 1 nanometer in size, consisting of anywhere from several up to a few dozen atoms. Lecturer Takamasa Tsukamoto, at #UTokyo_IIS , is pioneering a groundbreaking method for synthesizing these atomic clusters, which hold untapped potential. At the same time, he is also working to identify the periodicity (i.e., the recurring regularity) of atomic clusters and delve deeper into their fundamental nature. We spoke with Tsukamoto to find out what has been discovered and what new possibilities lie ahead.

Quantum computers are developing rapidly in countries around the world. They are believed to have the potential to achieve computation speeds up to 100 million times faster than conventional computers. As an example, this would allow calculations that currently take over three years on a supercomputer to be completed in a single second. Quantum bits are a critical and foundational component of quantum computers, and Associate Professor Kazuyuki Kuroyama of the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, has achieved noteworthy results in his research aimed at expanding their potential. His research focuses on enabling the transfer of information between different types of quantum bits. What does this entail, and what possibilities does this research open up? We asked Kuroyama.

The government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, provided support for the development of the new campus of IIT Hyderabad in the form of design work for six complexes. This work was done by experts from #UTokyo_IIS. The work commenced in 2011 and was completed earlier this year.

In recent years, gaze estimation technology, which interprets the direction of a person’s gaze from camera images, has made significant progress and is anticipated to be applied in various fields, such as autonomous driving, robotics, and medical applications. However, a significant challenge has been the bias in the training data necessary for AI to learn gaze estimation. For instance, many existing research datasets are collected in university laboratories, predominantly featuring student participants, resulting in a significant age bias.

Patches seem to be all the rage these days. There are birth control patches, nicotine patches, and transdermal medicinal patches, just to name a few. Now, a team of researchers led by Beomjoon Kim at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have developed a patch of needles connected to a paper sensor for diagnosing conditions such as prediabetes. Luckily, this patch doesn't multiply the pain and discomfort of a single hypodermic needle. In fact, these microneedles are painless and biodegradable.

Fujitsu-led industry-academia consortium commences development of world's first disinformation countermeasure platform.