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Challenging Research Award
- Home
- Support for obtaining research funding
- Challenging Research Award
Challenging Research Award
English Name : Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award
Overview
The Challenging Research Award recognizes and provides support for research funds to up-and-coming researchers with a wealth of creativity who are boldly taking on the challenge of promoting world-leading research, pioneering unexplored fields, developing innovative research in exploratory research, or pursuing important issues that are considered difficult to solve, with the aim of encouraging young faculty members of the University to conduct challenging research. The researchers who received this award have gone on to receive numerous recipients of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award.
Through the selection of the Challenging Research Award, Tokyo University of Science grasps the research trends of young faculty members of the university and considers necessary support measures.
About recommendation for FY2025
*This award is not open to the public.
FY2024 Award Winners
This year’s 23rd edition has decided that 11 people will receive the award. Three of them were also selected for the Suematsu Special Award*.
*The Suematsu Fund recognizes researchers who have been recognized as exceptionally outstanding among the winners of the Challenging Research Award.
| Name | Affiliation | Title | Research topic ★the Suematsu Challenging Research Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuto Moritake | Department of Physics, School of Science | Assistant Professor | ★Exceptional-point plasmonic sensor and its application to quantum biology |
| Kazuki Yamamoto | Department of Physics, School of Science | Assistant Professor | Theoretical study for realizing measurement-induced phase transitions in ultracold atoms |
| Toshihiro Chujo | Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering | Assistant Professor | ★Integrated Attitude-Orbit Control and Mission Design of Solar Sail and Preparation for Technology Demonstration in Space |
| Takashi Harumoto | Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology | Associate Professor | Hydrogen detection via correlation among electricity, magnetism, and strain |
| Yasuhiko Orita | Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology | Assistant Professor | Design of acoustic responsive liposome based on CO2 dynamics and application for drug release technology |
| Ayumi Nagashima | Department of Life Science and Technology, School of Life Science and Technology | Assistant Professor | Identification of the solute selectivity mechanism of aquaglyceroporin by comparative and evolutionary physiological analysis |
| Taizo Maruyama | Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Environment and Society | Associate Professor | Development of wave propagation model in concrete |
| Kozue Nishida | Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society | Associate Professor | Development of clumped isotope analysis techniques to unveil the habitat histories of marine organisms |
| Saeko Yanaka | Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Institute of Innovative Research | Associate Professor | Comprehensive exploration of potential functional sites of antibody molecules |
| Takafumi Yamamoto | Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Institute of Innovative Research | Associate Professor | ★Material design based on defect ordering |
| Ryosuke Takahara | Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research | Assistant Professor | Exploration of Unconventional Thermal Transport Originating from Molecular Dynamics |
Comments from Suematsu Special Prize Winners
Assistant Prof. Toshihiro Chujo
School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
I am very honored to receive the prestigious Tokyo Tech Challenging Research Award and the Suematsu Special Award. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my collaborators, students, staff, and families who supported my research.
Solar sails are propellant-free propulsion systems that use solar radiation pressure, and are particularly compatible with lightweight microspacecraft, and are considered to be one of the key technologies useful for high-frequency space exploration missions by ultra-small spacecraft. In order to use a solar sail, it is necessary to design the mission (track design) based on an understanding of orbital mechanics and control it to follow the designed trajectory, but since the trajectory control of the solar sail is done through attitude control, it is necessary to have a concept of integrated control of attitude and trajectory. In this research, we established an attitude and trajectory integrated control law using a gimbal mechanism for the sail deployment area, and designed various orbits assuming missions near the Moon and Lagrange points. In addition, we are preparing for a technology demonstration mission in space, and aim to apply it to deep space exploration in the future.
Associate Prof. Takafumi Yamamoto
Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Institute of Innovative Research
I am very honored to receive the prestigious Tokyo Tech Challenging Research Award and the Suematsu Special Award. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many people who have guided me so far, the professors who have helped me in the joint research, and the students who have been involved in the research.
I am engaged in the synthesis of new substances of inorganic compounds. In this research, we aim to create various crystal structures by arranging the defects generated in crystals by controlling the synthesis method and composition. Defects generally have a negative image, and in fact, in many cases, they are various factors that reduce the performance of a substance. However, if the defects can be arranged periodically, they become part of a beautifully arranged crystal structure and a means of controlling the properties of a substance. Recently, we have shown that the concept of defect control, which was well known for oxides, can also be applied to organic-inorganic hybrid compounds, which are attracting attention in perovskite solar cells. In the future, we will continue to develop methods that can freely arrange elements and defects in various material groups, and develop functional materials that have never existed before.
Award Ceremony
The award ceremony was held on September 13.
Assistant Prof. Yuto Moritake
Department of Physics, School of Science
I am very honored to receive the prestigious Tokyo Tech Challenging Research Award and the Suematsu Special Award. As a researcher specializing in photonics, I am very moved to receive this award in honor of Dr. Suematsu, who has made significant contributions to the field of photonics science. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Masaya Notomi (Department of Physics, School of Science) and all the people I have met and helped through my research activities so far.
Nanophotonics is a research field that controls the interaction between light and matter by creating a structure on the scale of several hundred nanometers that is the same as the wavelength of light, creating a stage where the wave nature of light is remarkably expressed, and bringing out the extreme properties of light. In particular, in recent years, various optical controls have been reported that break through conventional wisdom by incorporating ideas developed in condensed matter physics and quantum physics. In this research, we aim to realize highly sensitive optical sensing by utilizing the ideas of non-Hermitian (open systems) physics. By taking advantage of this high sensitivity, we will take on the challenge of detecting quantum biological signals, which are difficult to measure due to the small signals. Through cross-disciplinary research in physics, engineering, and biology, it is expected that new theories will be developed and optical technologies will be developed.