Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor Toshio Fukuda has been awarded the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Richard M. Emberson Award 2026.

IEEE, the world¡¯s largest organization of STEM professionals, presents the award to individuals who have made significant contributions in advancing the technical objectives of the organization. Professor Fukuda was recognized especially for his work in the area of robotics.

A Life Fellow of the IEEE, Professor Fukuda has served as president of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, director of IEEE Division X, president of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council, as well as in other roles. In 2020, he was elected as the organization¡¯s first Asian president.

This award celebrates Professor Fukuda¡¯s remarkable contributions to academia and technology internationally over the years.

Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi

Professor, Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ

Dr. Matsubayashi made the world¡¯s first discoveries of plant peptide hormones and their receptors in succession, with his findings being published in many renowned academic journals, including Science. He continues to lead the field of expertise with unique ideas and skills derived from his knowledge of both chemistry and biology.

How do researchers develop their originality?

In 1996, Dr. Matsubayashi made the world¡¯s first discovery of the plant peptide hormone PSK (phytosulfokine), one of the hormones essential for communication between cells.   Before that discovery, a lot of attention in the research world had been paid to the existence of a mysterious substance that promoted cell proliferation. It was Dr. Matsubayashi who identified PSK as that substance. Furthermore, at that time, peptide hormones had been believed to exist just in animals, not in plants. Dr. Matsubayashi¡¯s discovery was so novel that peer reviewers of his paper were skeptical about it. This achievement opened up a new path for him as a researcher. At least it seemed so, but Dr. Matsubayashi felt unsure.

He confesses, ¡°Researchers of this type were likely to end up as one-hit wonders.¡±

The laboratory that Dr. Matsubayashi belonged to was a group of researchers known as ¡°molecule hunter,¡± who identified active substances in natural products. Their usual move was to pick a phenomenon discovered by other biologists and identify the molecules involved in it. However, there was only a limited number of notable phenomena to pursue, and there was fierce competition in all of those research themes.  It was not easy to be the first to discover an unknown hormone, but such tough circumstances did not discourage Dr. Matsubayashi. What should such researchers rely on when making their next move?

His answer to this question is: ¡°I should look back on the path I have taken.¡±

PSK, the above-mentioned peptide hormone, is a small molecule consisting of five amino acids linked in this order: tyrosine-isoleucine-tyrosine-threonine-glutamine. As a point of information, large molecules with a large number of amino acids linked together are called ¡°proteins,¡± while small molecules with a small number of amino acids linked together are called ¡°peptides.¡± After examining all the conditions he could think of, including heat resistance, molecular size, and resistance to enzymatic digestion, Dr. Matsubayashi analyzed the peptide and succeeded in determining the amino acid sequence it contained.

Things did not end there. Mass spectrometry showed that the sequence weighed 846, which was 160 more than five amino acids. This fact led to the discovery of the structure of the sequence: a sulfate group with a weight of 80 was attached to the first and third tyrosines.

After being translated from a gene into a molecule made up of amino acids, it needed further modification in order to function. Because peptide hormones are small, they can easily diffuse between cells, making it convenient for the cells to exchange information. On the other hand, with a limited number of amino acids, it is difficult to increase the variation of hormones. These molecular backgrounds are presumed to be one of the reasons why post-translational modifications such as sulfate groups are made, despite the use of energy.

¡°This is knowledge from organic chemistry,¡± Dr. Matsubayashi remarks. ¡°It is the world of chemistry.¡±

Dr. Matsubayashi has always loved and studied both biology and chemistry, and has utilized their knowledge in his research. His skill in precisely determining chemical structures gave him a great advantage. Furthermore, he incorporated genetic analysis, which was cutting edge at the time, into his research. Dr. Matsubayashi talks about ¡°the perfection of molecule hunter that I would aim for if there were such a thing.¡±

¡°That would be to search for hormones from the molecular side rather than relying on biologists¡¯ papers. The culmination of my research is to use chemistry to explore phenomena that even biologists do not know about.¡±

This is the general process he follows. First, he reads genome information to find candidate genes that are likely to become hormones. After finding molecules that have been translated from genes and modified, he performs mass spectrometry to determine their structures. Finally, he synthesizes the molecules and investigates the biological phenomena they cause.  Dr. Matsubayashi has established this process as his original research style. It is in the reverse order to the normal molecule hunter¡¯s approach, which uses biological phenomena as a starting point.

¡°Ideas spread in an instant, but skills cannot be easily copied,¡± Dr. Matsubayashi explains.  ¡°Researchers need both ideas and skills, but I believe that skills are just as important, if not more so, than ideas.¡±

His discovery of a receptor defied the common wisdom in the world

If a hormone is compared to a ball, it needs a receptor, just as a ball needs a glove.

¡°Looking back, I think I did a great job,¡± Dr. Matsubayashi recollects. ¡°After the discovery, I started to get recognized little by little.¡±

At the time, the world was still skeptical about recognizing PSK as a hormone. In fact, Science passed to publish his paper on PSK at the time. The tide changed, however, in 2002, when the team of Dr. Matsubayashi discovered the receptor for PSK. He skillfully manipulated PSK to purify a PSK-binding protein, from which he derived genetic information, and he confirmed that it contained information on sites commonly found in receptors. Dr. Matsubayashi also confirmed that excessive production of this protein promoted cell proliferation. The protein proved to be the receptor for PSK. The results of this study were published in Science, and Dr. Matsubayashi was brilliantly vindicated six years after the discovery of PSK.

The skills they developed in this finding were important for subsequent research. Hormones and receptors exist in pairs. If one side of a pair is identified, that is a powerful clue to finding the other side of the pair. It is also possible to tell when and where certain cells communicate, and this knowledge is useful for elucidating specific mechanisms. For example, it was predicted at the time that two molecules, CLV1 and CLV3 (clavata 1 and 3), were involved as hormones and receptors in the continued production of the cells from which stem tips derive their leaves and flowers. However, no one had been able to prove it. Dr. Matsubayashi¡¯s research group investigated the structures of these two molecules and found that CLV3 is a peptide hormone and that CLV1 is a receptor, and they bind directly. His group had unparalleled momentum that no other research group could match.

¡°Science is art¡±: Using unique skills, Dr. Matsubayashi pursued the mystery of the peptide hormone PSY for 15 years

Of course, not all of his research projects went smoothly. One of his uphill struggles was research on the new peptide hormone PSY (plant peptide containing sulfated tyrosine). Based on the characteristics including the post-translational modification of sulfate groups, Dr. Matsubayashi made the discovery of PSY and published it in 2007. He found that PSY promotes root growth and cell proliferation, and that it has a role similar to that of PSK, the first peptide hormone he discovered. However, elucidation of PSY¡¯s specific function did not go as smoothly as expected. After a 15-year struggle, he finally got the whole picture in 2022.

¡°I was uneasy about whether it was really a hormone,¡± Dr. Matsubayashi recalls. ¡°But at the same time, I was confident. Although the function was still unknown, there was post-translational modification, and the receptor had been identified. These facts had helped me stay motivated for 15 years.¡±

When a hormone binds to its receptor, a certain function is turned on. According to this idea, for example, when the peptide hormone PSY binds to its receptor, root growth must be promoted. In fact, Arabidopsis plants that cannot properly produce PSY have shorter roots. In order to confirm the hypothesis, Dr. Matsubayashi added artificially synthesized PSY to them, and the roots grew long.

So, what happens in the case of Arabidopsis plants that have PSY but lack a receptor? The PSY has no receptor to bind to, so here again, there is no PSY-receptor pair. Despite this, the Arabidopsis plants that lacked the receptor grew roots steadily.

Is there any unknown receptor that PSY binds to? Or does PSY have another function? Then, Dr. Matsubayashi created Arabidopsis that could not produce PSY or its receptor. Again, the roots grew longer than expected. This indicated that he was missing something about the receptor. As a matter of fact, the receptor had the ability to put a “brake” on growth when it was not bound to PSY. When bound by PSY, the receptor releases the brake, allowing growth. Accordingly, when the receptor is missing, so is the brake, and in this case too, the roots grow long.

Further genetic analysis revealed that when growth is put on hold by the receptor, energy is preferentially spent to deal with stresses, such as high salt concentration, high temperature, or disease. Under normal conditions, individual cells constantly release PSY, which binds to the receptor in other cells, causing the plant to keep growing. In contrast, when a cell breaks down, the cells around it undergo a decrease in PSY concentration. Then, the receptor in these surrounding cells is unable to be bound by PSY, preparing for stress responses rather than growth. In other words, there proved to be a mechanism to detect that something strange had happened in the event of a loss of ¡°regular reports¡± between cells.

Plants have steadily evolved to adapt to various environmental changes, but such a sophisticated mechanism is beyond our imagination.  In this way, the research group led by Dr. Matsubayashi uncovered another plant mechanism that could almost be called artistic, as a result of the constant ambitious efforts they had made while believing in the skills they had built up by themselves.

Dr. Matsubayashi’s research group has a variety of unique skills, including the precise determination of molecular structures based on chemical knowledge, genetic analysis, and the search for candidate molecules that are pairs of peptide hormones and receptors. Mainly through research with members of his own group, Dr. Matsubayashi pursues what he is eager to know.

¡°To me, science is art, not business,¡± he argues. ¡°If I compare my team to a group of painters, we do not divide our work too finely, like assigning the sketching to painter A and the coloring to painter B. Each person works on what they want to depict, and they want to see it through to the end. We want to write an academic paper that we would want to frame and display. If our papers were displayed anonymously, they would probably be recognizable as ours.¡±

On May 21, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ held a ceremony to commemorate the naming of the IBIDEN Innovation Square located on the first floor of the IB Building on Higashiyama Campus. The new name was decided based on a naming rights agreement with Ibiden Co., Ltd, a company whose head office is located in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture.

ÐßÐßÊÓƵ has been expanding its use of naming rights contracts to increase revenue and enhance its educational and research activities. This is ÐßÐßÊÓƵ¡¯s ninth naming rights partnership. The four-year agreement runs from May 21, 2026, through May 20, 2030.

Ibiden began business over 100 years ago as a hydropower company. From the outset, it sought to boost the regional economy, and it has developed alongside the local community ever since. After its transition from an energy company to a manufacturing enterprise, the company has leveraged its long-established technological expertise to create innovative products that respond to the needs of our changing society.

The ceremony was attended by Ibiden¡¯s President and CEO, Koji Kawashima, and the Manager of Human Resources, Yasuhiro Asano. Attendees from ÐßÐßÊÓƵ included President Naoshi Sugiyama, Vice President Shogo Kimura, and Dean of the School of Engineering, Tatsuya Suzuki.

Moving forward, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ will continue to utilize naming rights agreements to support education and research, enhancing student life across the university.

Interview and text: Megumi Maruyama (URA, Planning and Project Development Division, Academic Research & Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration)

In recent years, some industry¨Cacademia collaborations have shifted their focus from applying existing technologies to exploring a more fundamental question: what kind of value should be created?

While such open-ended projects may sound flexible and creative, they rely in practice on careful coordination, negotiation, and sustained effort behind the scenes.

From different professional standpoints, Hideki Ohira, Professor of Cognitive Science, and Ryuichi Nakajima, Lead Research Administrator, have been working together on precisely this kind of collaboration. By tracing the six-year trajectory of their joint project, this article explores whether industry¨Cacademia collaboration can succeed when the goal itself is still being defined.

©¤©¤ Could you tell us about the industry¨Cacademia project you are working on?

Nakajima: The project began in 2020, following a request from the company side. Professor Ohira serves as the principal investigator, and I joined in 2021, taking over from a predecessor. Although driven by corporate needs, the project starts from basic research.

Ohira: Many industry¨Cacademia collaborations begin with a clearly defined goal or value. This project is different¡ªwe are exploring how value itself can be created. At first, it felt like trying to grasp clouds.

©¤©¤ How did you feel when the project started?

Ohira: There was no clear approach, but I found it interesting.

Nakajima:?I was a bit overwhelmed. I had just become a university research administrator (URA), and the philosophical theme made it hard to see the overall picture. Still, my interest in how knowledge is created within organizations kept me engaged.

©¤©¤ Who is involved in the project?

Nakajima: On the ÐßÐßÊÓƵ side, the team includes around ten researchers from cognitive psychology, medicine, and information science.

Ohira: On the company side, many members have engineering backgrounds and a producer mindset. They bring originality and ideas to the project.

©¤©¤ How do you divide your roles?

Ohira: I oversee the project as a whole, keeping both short-term actions and mid- to long-term vision in mind.

Nakajima: I handle coordination with the company, negotiations over research funding, and practical tasks such as setting agendas for regular meetings, facilitating discussions, and summarizing outcomes afterward.

©¤©¤ Are there any principles you keep in mind when moving the project forward?

Ohira: The project brings together three units¡ªpsychology, information science, and neuroscience¡ªwith different expertise and cultures. To keep discussions on track, we set step-by-step goals for each year.

Nakajima: Professor Ohira pays close attention to the team atmosphere, and when discussions stall, he decisively redirects them.

Ohira: That comes from past failures (laughs). Projects often fall apart not because of the research itself, but because of communication issues within the team.

Nakajima: Early on, I tended to think in an incremental, researcher-oriented way, which sometimes caused discussions to scatter. After my supervisor suggested backcasting, I began clarifying the goal first and planning from there.

©¤©¤ This is a long-term project. How do you approach negotiations over research funding?

Nakajima: We renew the agreement annually and hold discussions with the company each year. There is always a certain level of tension in the process.

Ohira: Each year, the project is expected to show something new¡ªdoing the same thing as the year before is not enough. Although we have been able to secure funding continuously, it is never easy, and budgets may be adjusted depending on the content. In that context, Nakajima¡¯s role in negotiating with the company has been essential.

Nakajima: That is largely thanks to the researchers, who carefully organize their research costs on an actual-expense basis. Clear explanations help the company understand and agree to the proposed budget.

Ohira: We also stay attentive to concerns within the research team and help frame difficult requests as opportunities for future outcomes or funding.

©¤©¤ It sounds like negotiation and coordination require not only expertise, but also a deep understanding of research. How does a URA¡¯s research background come into play?

Nakajima: Having spent many years in academia allows me to empathize with how researchers think, which is a major strength in my role.

Ohira: Because our research fields are relatively close, we can quickly build shared understanding when discussing proposals or interpreting data.

Nakajima: At the same time, the roles of researchers and URAs are different. Finding the right balance¡ªhow far to step in¡ªhas taken trial and error, and I¡¯ve learned it through experience.

Ohira: The scope of a URA¡¯s role varies widely. In Europe, I saw URA-like professionals deeply involved from the research design stage, even leading funding proposals, and I think such models could become more common.

©¤©¤ That suggests a new value for URAs.

Nakajima: Absolutely. Sometimes URAs support researchers; at other times, we explore together. Creating more informal spaces where researchers and URAs can interact freely may open the door to the next step.

No industry¨Cacademia collaboration moves smoothly from start to finish, especially when the goal is to explore new value. This article presents one project that is steadily moving forward and highlights insights relevant to industry¨Cacademia collaboration as a whole.

On April 28, 2026, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture (ICREA) hosted a research presentation and exchange event, attended by two former international students of ÐßÐßÊÓƵ.

The event was held as part of the JICA-AMANO Academic Bridge program, which is run by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and funded by Amano Enzyme Inc. The program promotes the sharing of research results between ÐßÐßÊÓƵ and its international alumni who specialized in the natural science fields.

This year, the program welcomed its first cohort which consisted of two members: Ms. Cabral from the Philippines and Dr. Wainaina from Kenya. Ms. Cabral graduated from the master’s program at the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences in 2021 and is currently affiliated with the Philippine Rice Research Institute where she conducts research on rice cultivation technologies that utilize low temperature plasma. Dr. Wainaina graduated from the doctoral program of the same school in 2017 and is now affiliated with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology where he researches direct seeded rice.

In addition to presenting on their research, Ms. Cabral and Dr. Wainaina paid a courtesy visit to President Amano of Amano Enzyme Inc. and engaged in discussions with researchers at the company¡¯s Innovation Center in Gifu Prefecture.

In AY2026 we will welcome the program¡¯s second cohort as we continue to foster connections between ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s former international students and industry, academia, and government in Japan.

The Common Nexus (ComoNe) logo is strange, complex, and entirely unique. Its different colors and shapes overlap and intersect, forming a single cluster. A three-dimensional rendering of the logo hangs from the ceiling inside the facility, and another sits outside the front entrance, welcoming visitors to ComoNe.

We sat down and spoke with the minds behind the logo: the concept developer and the designer.

Linking back to ComoNe¡¯s core concept¡ªthe key phrase was “diversity in the soil”

Matsui: The first stage of the logo design was a concept generation phase. This was conducted by a specialized team with a thorough understanding of ComoNe¡¯s objectives and its operational policy.

ComoNe’s conceptual basis is a “co-creation space” where various members of the and the wider community can come together and interact. Key concepts that govern the facility’s operation include “creating a space like an ecosystem” and “mixing and intersecting.” In addition, Tetsuo Kobori, the architect who designed the facility, described his design as looking “like the ground has been peeled back,” and so, on both the physical and conceptual levels, we arrived at this idea of being “in the earth.¡±

Takemoto: Initially, the planning team considered the keyword “ambiguity” and thought about images where a diverse mix of people are all jumbled together and blend into each another, as well as coming up with ideas such as a visual representation of the building¡¯s architectural design that looks like the ground has been peeled back. There was also the idea of creating a logo using letters alone, and so most of our initial ideas were quite different from the logo we ended up with [laughs].

Matsui: To be honest, I did feel a sense of pressure, thinking that the universities wouldn¡¯t approve any of our designs [laughs].

Takemoto: After that, words and phrases such as “in the soil” and “ecosystem” came up, and so we gravitated towards a design that embodied an organic, circulatory process consisting of different interdependent parts. Somebody came up with the idea that we should begin by looking at soil, and so the two of us actually looked at some earth under a microscope.

Matsui: That’s right [laughs]. It was easy enough to say ¡°ecosystem,¡± but it was difficult to imagine what that would look like design-wise. We wanted to be more intuitive¡ªhence the decision to look at soil.

A unique logo is born

Matsui: Sign design is a kind of subtraction or paring away: you take complex information and try to make it as abstract and simple as possible. This is to make the sign clear and memorable, and to make it stand out. However, with this design, I was assertive in my proposal that it could be interesting to layer all the design elements on top of each other.

Takemoto: Prior to this project, I had always stayed true to the method of paring something away and leaving behind only its essence, so when the proposal to “layer everything” came up, it didn¡¯t feel quite right ¨C a bit like an allergic reaction, perhaps [laughs]. However, this in itself was a breakthrough: I realized that paring away is just one of many solutions.

Clean design is nice in its own way, but it sometimes fails to leave an impression on the viewer. I think that a sense of eeriness or uncanniness can, in fact, also be an important aspect of design.

Colors and shapes changing infinitely¡ªwhat we want to happen at ComoNe

Matsui: For most people, “the color of soil” typically means the color brown. However, when you look at soil under a microscope, it is not brown at all: there are minerals, microorganisms, earthworms, each with their own color and shape. Focusing on these various aspects, you realize that soil is in fact full of color, and this realization factored into our design.

Takemoto: We used a method called “multiplication” in which multiple colors and shapes are layered, and the overlapping parts make new colors.

Matsui: There is significance in the fact that new colors emerge where the different shapes intersect. When you come to ComoNe, you yourself undergo a change: new colors come through, if you will. Colors overlapping many times in multiple layers resulting in unpredictable new shades¡ªI think that’s what ComoNe is all about.

Takemoto: The logo we created contains various elements, and depending on the viewer, these elements might look like microorganisms, or seeds, or earthworms, and I think it’s right that different people should perceive these elements in different ways. I thought we should include digital elements in addition to natural ones, so we also incorporated geometric artificial-looking elements.

Matsui: In retrospect, I think the actual process of creating the logo embodied the essence of ComoNe. The logo mark is an expression of what we hope will occur at the facility. Of course it’s ideal when different people¡¯s worldviews align, but we hope that ComoNe will create abundant opportunities for people of different personalities and backgrounds to come together and be changed by their encounters with one another.

Originally published in Japanese on July 29, 2025.

Breakthrough reveals a new way plants perceive hydrogen peroxide, offering new insights for crop protection and plant immunity

Researchers at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), ÐßÐßÊÓƵ, together with collaborators from RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (RIKEN CSRS) and The University of Osaka, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which plants detect hydrogen peroxide (H?O?), a key signaling molecule involved in stress responses and immunity. Published in Nature Communications, the study reveals that plants rely on a copper-dependent sensing system, rather than the previously assumed cysteine-based mechanism, to perceive reactive oxygen species (ROS).

This work reshapes our understanding of how plants respond to environmental stress and pathogens, and may pave the way for improving crop resilience. Quinones and hydrogen peroxide play a central role in plant responses to pathogens and environmental stress, and understanding how plants perceive these molecules could inform strategies to enhance crop protection and stress tolerance.

How plants detect redox-related molecules in their environment

As sessile organisms, plants constantly monitor their environment using specialized receptors on the surface of their cells. Among these, a class known as leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases can sense a wide range of stimuli. One such receptor, CARD1 (also called HPCA1), was previously shown to detect both quinones and ROS such as H?O?. However, how a single receptor distinguishes between these chemically distinct signals remained unclear.

The research team discovered that CARD1 contains a copper ion bound to a cluster of histidine residues on its surface. This copper site plays a critical role in detecting H?O?.

Surprisingly, cysteine residues ¡ª previously thought to be essential for H2O2 sensing ¡ª are not required for signal perception. Instead, the CARD1 receptor uses copper to detect H?O? through redox chemistry.

¡°The results showed that when the copper-binding site is disrupted, plants lose their ability to respond to H?O? signals,¡± said Anuphon Laohavisit, lead author and designated associate professor at the WPI-ITbM. ¡°In contrast, mutations in cysteine residues had little effect on signaling, indicating that their primary role is structural rather than signaling.¡±

Through computational approaches, the team suggests that ROS sensing by CARD1 could occur through oxidation of copper (Cu? to Cu??) at the receptor surface. Such a redox change may either directly trigger signaling or generate secondary molecules that activate downstream responses. It is likely that a separate pathway exists for quinone perception and remains to be identified.

Conclusion and future perspective

The researchers provide the first structural evidence of a metal ion¨Cbased sensing mechanism in plant plasma membrane receptors, reshaping our understanding of ROS perception in plants and paving the way for exploring metal-based ROS signaling mechanisms across biology.

Paper information:

Nobuaki Ishihama, Yohta Fukuda, Yumiko Shirano, Kazuhiro J. Fujimoto, Kaori Takizawa, Ryoko Hiroyama, Hiroki Ito, Mayumi Nishimura, Takeshi Yanai, Tsuyoshi Inoue, Ken Shirasu and Anuphon Laohavisit. (2026). ¡°A copper-dependent, redox-based hydrogen peroxide perception in plants,¡± Nature Communications, DOI: .

Funding information:

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant number JP22H00364), JSPS KAKENHI (grant number JP24K01718), JST GteX program (grant JPMJGX23B2), JST FOREST program (grant JPMJFR220G), MEXT Promotion of Development of a Joint Usage/Research System Project: Coalition of Universities for Research Excellence Program (CURE) (grant JPMXP1323015482), MEXT Project for promoting public utilization of advanced research infrastructure: Program for supporting construction of core facilities (grant number JPMXS04411024), RIKEN TRIP initiative Field Omits, and the Mitsubishi Foundation.

Expert contact:

Anuphon Laohavisit
Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), ÐßÐßÊÓƵ
laohavisit.anuphon.f2@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Media contact:

Samuel Jacob
Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), ÐßÐßÊÓƵ
jacob.samuel.isaac.j8@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Top image:

Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which plants detect hydrogen peroxide (H?O?), a key signaling molecule involved in stress responses and immunity. Credit: Issey Takahashi (CC BY)

Mizuki Tada

Professor, Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, Research Center for Materials Science / Graduate School of Science, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ

Studying the solid catalysts of inorganic materials, Dr. Tada works on both the synthesis of new catalysts and the visualization of active catalyst structures and catalysis. She organizes various collaborative researches with industry such as fuel cell for automobiles and rubber tire.

Addressing longstanding challenges in catalyst research

¡°Many catalysts have been used in modern society, but solid catalysts are complicated. It is quite difficult to understand the structures of active species in real catalysis.¡±

For examples, diamond has a crystalline structure in which carbon atoms are orderly arranged in a particular pattern. In contrast, the structures of solid catalysts that Dr. Tada studies are complicated and heterogeneous. A solid catalyst is composed of particles, whose sizes and structures are heterogeneous, and they are attached on a support material. However, this heterogeneity is essential in real catalysis. How do they work? Where do catalytically active sites locate? To understand them on a fundamental level, it is necessary to utilize not only synthetic approach but also techniques to ¡°visualize¡± working catalysts.

There are various approaches in studies on catalysts and catalysis, and various knowledge and skills have been required, such as the synthesis of new materials, the developments of reaction processes. In general, catalysts are prepared by the huge repetition of synthetic trial-and-errors and catalyst tests. The details of their active structures and catalysis are often found afterwards. Most of present catalysts currently used are still black box without understanding their catalysis.

The laboratory Dr. Tada belonged when she started her research activities focused on the developments of new physicochemical methods for catalysis researches, and developed measurement techniques to identify the local structures of solid catalysts, called X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS). This method uses high-energy hard X-rays and the transmission and absorption behaviors of X-rays depend on materials being irradiated. For examples, in X-ray imaging applied for medical diagnosis, parts that strongly absorb X-rays appear white (e.g. bones), while parts with weak X-ray absorption through the sample appear black. XAFS data is measured by changing the energy of X-rays and recorded X-ray absorption at each energy, which suggest us the amount of a particular element and neighboring atoms. It is a powerful technique for identifying the local structures of catalysts.

¡°When I was a doctoral student, I would like to synthesize new catalysts and then out of necessity, I also became involved in the characterization of catalysts. I¡¯m always interested in what synthetic researchers would like to know for their researches on material synthesis.¡± 

Method to discern the individuality of catalyst

¡°Catalyst composed of multiple materials contains multiple structures with different activity. I thought that it was necessary to visualize the individuality of catalyst to understand real catalysis.¡±

Although the XAFS method has been widely developed over the past 30 years, there have been still challenges in identifying structural differences inside an individual catalyst particle because of the limitation of the X-ray beam size, which was too thick to catch a single catalyst particle. There are large distributions of catalyst particles and the location of active sites and large X-ray beam cannot tell us the individual information of the catalyst particles. In 2008, when Dr. Tada moved to the Institute for Molecular Science, she happened upon a state-of-the-art technique for her study. The X-ray nano-beam, which was focused X-ray beam with nano size, was developed at the large synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8. She asked the collaboration using the X-ray nanobeam and brought her samples whose catalyst particles were spread on a support surface. She finally succeeded in revealing the active structure of an individual catalyst particle for the first time, using the X-ray nanobeam.

Personal drive is the criterion of research

¡°Practical issues at industrial frontlines will also accelerate basic research.¡±

While conducting advanced imaging research using the XAFS methods, she met researchers of an automobile company. She was overwhelmed by their desperate efforts to deal with various issues facing in their research and development of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles. As the actual operation of fuel cell vehicles progressed, new development issues rapidly appear. However, it is not easy to look inside a fuel cell under operation. Where are degraded parts inside a fuel cell? How do they find and diagnose them rapidly? To find any hint for better understanding of the practical issues, collaborative research was proposed to Dr. Tada.

¡°I decide the action of my research by personal drive.¡±

At the time, Dr. Tada had never been involved in research about fuel cells, and she didn¡¯t know basic research terms in the field. Nevertheless, she participated in the collaborative research without hesitation. Personal drive with eagerness and energy moves researchers and a great team conducts great research. This belief is her unwavering criterion in deciding the action of collaborative research, even to this day. ¡°Even with a sophisticated research theme, there will always be a big wall at difficult turning points. During such moments, the strong motivation and drive of researchers break through the difficulties to achieve the goal. Moreover, it¡¯s essential that everyone involved shares the clear vision of the goal.¡±

In addition, when she starts collaboration with a company, she considers that understanding of basic research is important. As long as her research is conducted at a university, obtained results are common and widely available to the public. Collaboration with a company with understanding of basic research provides the progress of research that cannot be done by university or company alone and strong relationship between academia and industry generates that allows for mutual development.

The collaborative project finally led to large-scale national research and development programs. Now, she enabled to visualize reactions and degradation in fuel cells in three dimensions using the powerful X-rays of SPring-8 and researchers in all over the world can use this method.

These researches subsequently promoted the fusion of basic research and industrial applications using synchrotron radiation. As seen in the development of the next-generation synchrotron radiation facility, NanoTerasu, scheduled to commence operation in April 2024, research using synchrotron radiation has now become a major platform attracting researchers from both academia and industries.

¡°What is the request from society?¡± The importance of meeting people and understanding their perspectives

Dr. Tada has been engaged in fusion research with researchers in different fields of expertise and collaborative research with various companies even now. It is impressive that she participates in extensive collaborations across diverse fields while maintaining a solid foundation in her original field of expertise.

¡°People who constantly keep their ear to the ground of outside fields can stay strong. Those who merely wait until the time is right within their own fields are difficult to acquire a new approach.¡±

Of course, there is a path of refining one¡¯s knowledge and skills to master in the same field for 40 or 50 years. However, greatness is comparative, taking the lead among pioneers in that field is a daunting challenge. While emphasizing the importance of making efforts and building a foundation supporting one¡¯s research within affiliated laboratory, Dr. Tada also looks outside her own field. She often recognizes surprisingly that what is common in her field is unknown elsewhere. She thinks that it is important to learn what people in other fields would like to know and what values they hold.

Dr. Tada has an anecdote from her student days, when she actively explored various adjacent fields outside her chemistry area.

¡°My supervisor at the time often told  me that when we get older, we will tend to avoid embarrassment more so that when you are young, you should explore and present your research in different fields anyway.¡±

In her fourth year of university, her first academic conference was one organized by the Chemical Society of Japan, but she joined that of the organic chemistry session not of the catalytic chemistry session. ¡°I was fearless,¡± she says. She later attended meetings and conferences when and wherever she was called by, such as those of the Physical Society of Japan, engineering science societies, and national or international companies. She was surprised by difference in atmosphere, with everyone wearing suits at conferences of the Chemical Society of Japan and otherwise with no one wearing formal at those of the Physical Society of Japan. Positions vary between basic and applied, and between disciplines. Even the choice of words to describe the same research in different fields is completely different. ¡°I met various researchers. Chemists have their own way of thinking, as do physicists, and engineers. Knowing different values will help understanding my own field strengths and weaknesses.¡±

Different individuals from various backgrounds construct community, and create new values. The crux lies in how much one can understand what society currently needs. ¡°Always keeping antennas tuned to the outside world, maintaining a solid foundation in one¡¯s research field of expertise while cultivating interest in diverse subjects, and not being afraid to ask questions of others and learn from them¡ªthese three elements are crucial. Surprisingly, there seem to be few people who are willing to ask others to teach them something they don¡¯t know.¡±   

“I want to develop new drugs to help fight disease.” This has been Shun Umemoto¡¯s dream ever since a member of his family fell ill. Umemoto, a recent graduate of the doctoral program in the Graduate School of Engineering, researches proteins for drug development. This April, he embarked on his long-held dream of becoming a researcher at a major pharmaceutical company. He reflects on a student life full of remarkable achievements, such as receiving ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award and the Akasaki Students¡¯ Incentive Prize.

An abiding interest in drug discovery: A field that makes the impossible possible

Umemoto was in high school when he first thought about becoming a drug discovery researcher. He became interested in medical care after a family member fell ill. He was drawn to drug discovery in particular because it creates new options for conditions that do not yet have effective treatments, whereas doctors can only use treatments that are already available. Umemoto also considered studying pharmaceutical science but decided to enter the School of Engineering to keep his options open. ÐßÐßÊÓƵ became his top choice after he came for a campus visit; he was attracted by the university¡¯s open atmosphere without any boundaries separating the campus from the city.

Taking on a challenging research topic

After entering the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology in the School of Engineering, Umemoto learned that you need a doctoral degree to apply for research posts at pharmaceutical companies, and so he made his decision to pursue graduate studies early on. When he reached his final year as an undergraduate, he was still resolute about researching pharmaceuticals, and so he chose to join Professor Hiroshi Murakami¡¯s lab in the Graduate School of Engineering, which has a research focus on antibodies and biopharmaceuticals.

Murakami¡¯s lab specializes in the creation of artificial antibodies, however, the aim of Umemoto¡¯s research was to develop a protein sequencing method at the single-molecule level, a feat that had yet to be achieved. Umemoto explains his rationale for selecting this topic, stating that if he was going to pursue a doctoral degree, he wanted to choose a challenging topic with high-impact results. It was an ambitious topic indeed: if successful, his research would not only contribute to early cancer detection and the development of treatments for rare diseases but would also serve to elucidate biological phenomena.

A doctoral degree is a marathon ¨C you have to go at your own pace

When thinking about the life of a doctoral student, you might imagine days holed up in a lab, every spare moment spent conducting experiments and writing papers, but Umemoto maintained a healthy routine, coming to the lab at 9 a.m. and leaving by 7 p.m. “The five years of graduate school are like a marathon. I was mindful about living a balanced lifestyle so I could keep pushing forward without wearing myself out,” he says.

Reflecting on his nine years at university, Umemoto encourages younger students aiming to become industry researchers to obtain their doctoral degree, explaining that ¡°pursuing an additional three years of graduate research after receiving a master’s degree, rather than doing research at a company, better equips you with foundational research skills such as critical thinking and the ability to read and write academic papers.”

The GTR program and the “NU3MT” award

When he entered graduate school, Umemoto was selected for one of the WISE (World-leading Innovative & Smart Education) Programs, the “Graduate Program of Transformative Chem-Bio Research (GTR).” Umemoto says that in addition to the funding, the program activities were highly beneficial. For example, engaging in interdisciplinary research broadened his perspective and meant that he got to know other doctoral students outside of his field.

One of the assignments on the GTR program was to write a research proposal. Umemoto says this was great practice for when he came to write his application for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) research fellowship. He polished his proposal with the help of his supervisor and was successful in his application for the prestigious DC1 fellowship.

Umemoto also received the Akasaki Students¡¯ Incentive Prize in 2023 and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 2025. Recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Student Award partake in a speech competition titled “NU3MT” in which students present on their research. At the competition, Umemoto received the President’s Special Award. He expresses his gratitude for all the generous support he has received, and the GTR program which gave him many opportunities to present on his research.

Becoming a researcher at a pharmaceutical company

This spring marks the end of Umemoto¡¯s nine years at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ and the beginning of his dream career as a drug discovery researcher. He started job hunting in the spring of his second year in the doctoral program, spending three to four months focused on finding a job at a major pharmaceutical company. At the interviews, he explained his research and demonstrated his strengths, successfully landing a role at his first choice. He has a clear vision for his future, his biggest aspiration being for the medicine he develops to help real patients. He also hopes to work in a leadership position someday.

Addendum:

Developing presentation and leadership skills in his role as student representative of the university cooperative

Umemoto was a member of the student committee at the ÐßÐßÊÓƵ Cooperative during his undergraduate years. He was active in planning events for new students and conducting campus tours on university open days. When there were disagreements between members, Umemoto often acted as a mediator. He says, “I liked communicating with people and was more interested in bringing the whole organization together than specializing in a single activity.” He took on the role of student representative in his third year. After becoming the representative, he had more opportunities to speak in front of people, which helped him get used to giving presentations. From this experience, he came to enjoy presenting on his research, and so his role as student representative has also been beneficial to his career as a researcher.

Originally published in Japanese on January 20, 2026.