Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Outline One of the objectives of Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) is adoption and promotion for basic research themes beyond the typical disciplines. FRIS has basic experiment facilities and devices to meet the demand of interdisciplinary studies. We invite proposals for interdisciplinary themes and subjects in order to support the seminal studies of 6 domains of (1) Materials and Energy, (2) Life and Environmental science, (3) Information and Systems, (4) Device technology, (5) Human and Society, (6) Advanced basic science for “FRIS Creative Interdisciplinary Research Program”. Submitted proposals are to be reviewed by FRIS committee.We encourage application from young researchers such as assistant prof., lecturer, associate prof. We appreciate your application based on new original ideas and new points of view.   Research budget 1,000,000 yen for each fiscal year.   Qualification requirements Principal researcher (Research representative) should be a member of Tohoku University except FRIS as assistant professor, lecturer and associate professor. Especially, we encourage application from young researchers. Eligibility and How to apply Principal researcher (Research representative) should be a member of Tohoku University except FRIS as assistant professor, lecturer and associate professor. Especially, we encourage application from young researchers. Applicants should fill in the application form (A4 2 pages) and follow directions. Upload the PDF file through the following URL: URL: https://forms.gle/pkFBzaLFZnW6uZx48  Deadline April 14th 2023, 17:00.   For details please see the application guidelines.   Guidelines（PDF） Application（word） Contact Prof. Saida, (call extension 92-5752 or e-mail to @ ) Specially assigned associate professor Suzuki, (call extension 92-4353 or e-mail to @).

Schrodinger's cat is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics that explores the idea of superposition, where an object can exist in two states at the same time. In the experiment, a hypothetical cat is placed in a box, and its state remains unknown until the box is opened and the cat is observed. However, watching the cat also alters its state, potentially leading to a different outcome than if the box had not been opened at all. This paradox highlights the strange and counterintuitive nature of quantum mechanics.   Dr. Le Bin Ho of FRIS, Tohoku University, and his colleague have discovered a new way to peek inside Schrödinger's box using quantum computers without altering what is inside. They use a technique called quantum compilation, which transforms the system's state into a special type of computer program called a quantum circuit. This quantum circuit then reflects the cat's state in the box, much like a mirror reflecting an object, so we can observe its status without harming it. This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for quantum computing and helps us better understand the mysteries of quantum mechanics.   The method is precious for quantum state tomography, a technique used in quantum mechanics to determine a system's state. It uses quantum compilation to transform the state into a quantum circuit. Once the state is represented in this way, it can be utilized across various fields such as quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum simulation.   This discovery was published in Scientific Reports on March 6, 2023. Figure: Quantum compilation is like a mirror that reflects the image of a cat inside a box from the real space to the computational space, allowing us to observe the cat's status without causing any harm to it. Publication Details: Vu Tuan Hai and Le Bin Ho Scientific Reports "Universal compilation for quantum state tomography" DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30983-4 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30983-4

Outline We invite proposals for interdisciplinary themes and subjects by young researchers for “FRIS Creative Interdisciplinary Collaboration Program”. Submitted proposals are to be reviewed by FRIS committee. We appreciate your application based on original ideas and new points of view.   Research budget 1,000,000 yen for each fiscal year.   Eligible research group for application A research group should consist of at least two members. Assistant professor in FRIS must apply this program as a principal researcher.   Eligibility and How to apply Principal researcher (Research representative) should be an assistant professor in FRIS. Applicants should fill in the application form (A4 2 pages) and follow directions. Upload the PDF file through the following URL: URL: https://forms.gle/upTihhJFFNoQJdkj8  Deadline April 14th 2023, 17:00.   For details please see the application guidelines.   Guidelines（PDF） Application（word） Contact Prof. Saida, (call extension 92-5752 or e-mail to @ ) Specially assigned associate professor Suzuki, (call extension 92-4353 or e-mail to @).

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) has selected and announced Principal Investigators (PIs) and research proposals for the FY2022 FOREST (Fusion Oriented REsearch for disruptive Science and Technology) program.   The total number of applications was 2,790, of which 263 were selected, and Dr. Weng's project "Design-Centered Governance for Human-Robot Co-Existence: From the Ethical Design Perspective" was among the selected proposals.   Dr. Weng comments "From IEEE's international standardization promotion activities, I would like to try the methodology and demonstration experiment of intelligent robot ethical design and realize a new artificial intelligence ethical standard called legal machine language."   Including those selected in FY2020 and FY2021, eight young researchers from FRIS became PIs of the FOREST program. List of PIs of FOREST Program (Tohoku University) https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/japanese/newimg/newsimg/news20230130_jst.pdf FOREST Program (JST) https://www.jst.go.jp/souhatsu/en/index.html List of PIs of FOREST Program (JST) https://www.jst.go.jp/souhatsu/document/res2022.pdf

Imagine if a t-shirt could analyze sweat, potentially alerting the wearer to any health abnormalities. Well, this is now closer to reality thanks to a research group's recent innovation.   Fibers and fabrics are ever-present in our daily lives, and their origins are intertwined with the history of human civilization. Although centuries of human progression have unfolded, much remains unchanged for fibers and fabrics.   Yet recent advancements in the multi-material fiber drawing process have ushered in a new era of multifunctional, fiber-based smart fabrics.   Smart fabrics allow for the seamless integration of electronics, optics, biosensors, and mechanics into a thin strand of fiber that is intrinsically flexible and as thin as a human hair. These fabrics can then be used to monitor vital physiological signals related to our mental and physical health status.   Dr. Yuanyuan Guo, assistant professor at Tohoku University's Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, led a team of researchers to develop a microelectronic fiber with microscopic parameters that is capable of analyzing electrolytes and metabolites in sweat. Its micrometer scale allows it to be woven into clothes for healthcare applications.   To produce the fiber, the group leveraged the versatile thermal drawing process, where heat is applied to draw out micro-structured fiber from its macroscopic preform. The team also patterned on two sensing electrodes for sodium and uric acid on the longitudinal surface of the fiber.   Figure: The microelectronic fibers fabricated by the thermal drawing process and its fabrics for sweat sensing. (Credit: Jingxuan Wu et al.)   "Our breakthrough is the first successful attempt at using thermally drawn fiber in wearable bioelectronics for monitoring biochemical signatures," says Guo.   Although mainstream photolithography and printing technology have enabled wearable electronics, doing so often entails attaching fairly rigid electronic patches to existing fabrics or directly on the skin, leading to only a small area of the body being covered.   "Since most developments so far could not be considered clothes, we devoted our effort to transforming fiber, to make truly wearable smart fabric," adds Guo.   The fiber could lead to fiber-based smart clothes that provide greater versatility in functions, larger sensing areas, and greater comfort. The team believes that their developed smart fabric could revolutionize the textile and healthcare industries, benefiting human society at large.     Graduate student Jingxuan Wu was the leading author of the research work, and it was published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry on January 9, 2023.   Publication Details: Jingxuan Wu, Yuichi Sato, Yuanyuan Guo Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry “Microelectronic fibers for multiplexed sweat sensing” DOI: 10.1007/s00216-022-04510-9 https://doi.org/s00216-022-04510-9 Press Release: Tohoku University https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/analyzing_sweat_via_microelectronic_fibers.html

Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the universe, allowing astrophysicists to observe intense gamma rays in short durations. Gamma-ray bursts are classified as either short or long, with long gamma-ray bursts being the result of massive stars dying out. Hence why they provide hidden clues about the evolution of the universe.   Gamma-ray bursts emit gamma rays as well as radio waves, optical lights, and X-rays. When the conversion of explosion energy to emitted energy, i.e., the conversion efficiency, is high, the total explosion energy can be calculated by simply adding all the emitted energy. But when the conversion efficiency is low or unknown, measuring the emitted energy alone is not enough.   Now, a team of astrophysicists has succeeded in measuring a gamma-ray burst's hidden energy by utilizing light polarization. The team was led by Dr. Yuji Urata from the National Central University in Taiwan and MITOS Science CO., LTD and Professor Kenji Toma from Tohoku University's Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS).   Details of their findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy on December 8, 2022.   When an electromagnetic wave is polarized, it means that the oscillation of that wave flows in one direction. While light emitted from stars is not polarized, the reflection of that light is. Many everyday items such as sunglasses and light shields utilize polarization to block out the glare of lights traveling in a uniform direction.   Measuring the degree of polarization is referred to as polarimetry. In astrophysical observations, measuring a celestial object's polarimetry is not as easy as measuring its brightness. But it offers valuable information on the physical conditions of objects.   The team looked at a gamma-ray burst which occurred on December 21, 2019 (GRB191221B). Using the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array - some of the world's most advanced optical and radio telescopes - they calculated the polarimetry of fast-fading emissions from GRB191221B. They then successfully measured the optical and radio polarizations simultaneously, finding the radio polarization degree to be significantly lower than the optical one.   "This difference in polarization at the two wavelengths reveals detailed physical conditions of the gamma-ray burst's emission region," said Toma. "In particular, it allowed us to measure the previously unmeasurable hidden energy."   When accounting for the hidden energy, the team revealed that the total energy was about 3.5 times bigger than previous estimates.   With the explosion energy representing the gravitational energy of the progenitor star, being able to measure this figure has important ramifications for determining stars' masses. "Knowing the measurements of the progenitor star's true masses will help in understanding the evolutionary history of the universe," added Toma. "The first stars in the universe could be discovered if we can detect their long gamma-ray bursts." Artist's impression of the gamma-ray burst GRB191221B (left) and images of GRB191221B observed with normal and polarized light (lower right inset). The energy of the explosion converted to light (afterglow) is observed, but the observations of the polarized light allow an accurate estimate of the explosion energy. (Credit: Urata et al./Yu-Sin Huang/MITOS Science CO., LTD.) Publication Details Yuji Urata, Kenji Toma, Stefano Covino, Klaas Wiersema, Kuiyun Huang, Jiro Shimoda, Asuka Kuwata, Sota Nagao, Keiichi Asada, Hiroshi Nagai, Satoko Takahashi, Chao-En Chung, Glen Petitpas, Kazutaka Yamaoka, Luca Izzo, Johan Fynbo, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, Maryam Arabsalmani, Makoto Tashiro Nature Astronomy "Simultaneous Radio and Optical Polarimetry of GRB 191221B Afterglow" DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01832-7 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01832-7 Press Release: Tohoku University https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/measuring_gamma_ray_bursts_hidden_energy.html Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University https://www.sci.tohoku.ac.jp/english/news/20221219-12419.html ALMA Project, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan https://alma-telescope.jp/en/news/grb191221b-202212

Hybrid event Language: Japanese   Date and Time: Wednesday, January 11, 2022, 13:30 to 16:00   Venue: Online (Zoom) and seminar room at FRIS (on-site participants are limited to the lecturer, TI-FRIS Fellows, FRIS faculty members, and Tohoku University members). However, depending on the situation, it may be an online meeting only.   Subject: Designing Effective Scientific Presentations Lecturer: Associate Professor Yuma Takahashi, Chiba University Topic: At the 28th FRIS Seminar, you can learn design techniques to improve the appeal of your paper or presentation slides. This lecture will introduce design rules that anyone can do and use now for font selection, text layout, chart creation, color schemes, and more.   Language: Japanese   Host: Tohoku Initiative for Fostering Global Researchers for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TI-FRIS) Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University   Eligible Participants: Faculty and staff members and students belonging to TI-FRIS participating universities (Hirosaki University, Iwate University, Tohoku University, Akita University, Yamagata University, Fukushima University, Miyagi University of Education)   Registration: Please register using the participation application form here. https://forms.gle/v5a7d4eF5rHvDGJj8   Registration Deadline: Thursday, January 5, 2023 (for on-site participation) Tuesday, January 10, 2023 (for online participation)  

The costliness of drug development and the limitations of studying physiological processes in the lab are two separate scientific issues that may share the same solution. Microphysical systems (MPSs) are in vitro platforms made up of cells in a microenvironment that closely mimics that found in the body, allowing scientists to recreate the conditions of tissues found within the body for both further elucidation of biological conditions and systems and for applications such as testing drugs in a more precise model than animal testing allows. However, the advancements that MPSs could provide have been limited up to this point by an inability to accurately record exactly what is happening at a cellular level. Now, a team of scientists has developed an electrochemical sensing platform that could solve this issue.   The results were published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics on October 29, 2022.   "Recent bioengineering techniques have realized a construction of tissue model integrated with a perfusable vascular network," said corresponding author Yuji Nashimoto, formally of Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences at Tohoku University, now at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. "However, to utilize the models as drug screening tools, we need biosensors to monitor their functions in real-time, which until now were lacking. This study developed new electrochemical sensing platform to monitor the vascularized tissue model."   The team identified electrochemical sensors as ideal for cell functionality readouts because of their low invasiveness, real-time detection and high sensitivity for in vitro culture platforms. Integrating electrochemical sensors into MPSs, however, has been difficult because of their incompatibility with microfluidic devices, according to the researchers. The researchers were able to integrate their sensing platform for 3D cultured cells with a perfusable vascular network — an engineered vascular system that includes the passage of fluids through it — to measure oxygen metabolism in 3D tissues with vascular flow that mimics that in the human body in real-time.   This successful integration was achieved in part by designing the system to have an open top and a lower layer with five channels for culturing the vascular network and an upper layer that was used for both culturing 3D cultured cells and for oxygen metabolism analysis. The two layers were separated by a thin membrane.     The researchers tested the platform with human lung fibroblast spheroids. They then applied it to a cancer organoid and evaluated the oxygen metabolism changes during drug administration through the vascular network. The results showed that their sensors were successfully integrated into the system to provide the desired accurate measurements.   "We found that the platform could integrate a perfusable vascular network with 3D cultured cells, and the electrochemical sensor could detect the change in oxygen metabolism in a quantitative, non-invasive and real-time manner," said corresponding author Hitoshi Shiku of the Graduate School of Engineering and of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, both at Tohoku University. "Biosensors are very important tools to realize more physiological drug screening. Our research group has developed various sensors for the purpose. We continue to expand the detectable molecules and to develop more robust and high-throughput sensors."   According to the researchers, future studies should include ways to address the changes of the spheroid and organoid during device culture as well as the development of a perfusable vascular network in an even more controlled environment than currently possible. While the researchers identified the next steps for future studies, the results of this study hold promise for monitoring perfusable vascular networks for drug testing purposes in a way that was not previously achieved.   "This study developed oxygen metabolism analysis for the vascularized tissue model," Shiku said. "In the future, the detectable molecules should be expanded, and the signal-to-noise ratio should be improved." Photograph of the electrochemical sensing platform. (Credit: Yuji Nashimoto et al.)   Publication Details Yuji Nashimoto*, Rei Mukomotoǂ, Takuto Imaizumiǂ, Takato Teraiǂ, Shotaro Shishido, Kosuke Ino, Ryuji Yokokawa, Takashi Miura, Kunishige Onuma, Masahiro Inoue, Hitoshi Shiku* (*corresponding authors, ǂThese authors equally contributed to the work.) Biosensors and Bioelectronics “Electrochemical sensing of oxygen metabolism for a three-dimensional cultured model with biomimetic vascular flow” DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114808 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2022.114808 Press Release: Tohoku University https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/sensing_platform_for_studying_in_vitro_vascular_systems.html

Hybrid event Language: Japanese and English   Date and Time: Thursday, December 13, 2022, 13:00 to 15:45   Venue: Online (Zoom) and seminar room at FRIS (on-site participants are limited to the lecturer, TI-FRIS Fellows, FRIS faculty members, and Tohoku University members). However, depending on the situation, it may be an online meeting only.   Lecture 1 Time: 13:00-14:15 Subject: Toward Fair Presentation of Research Results Lecturer: Professor Junji Saida, Research Fairness Advisor in FRIS Topic: In recent years, researchers have been strongly requested by society to publish their findings, and the quality and quantity of their publications have a significant impact on their own career development. On the other hand, the media (academic journals) in which researchers publish their results are diversifying due to the shift to online publishing, and some of them are becoming more and more commercial. In this lecture, Prof. Saida and participants will discuss how researchers should present their research results from the viewpoints of journals and conferences.   Lecture 2 Time: 14:30-15:45 Subject: Copyright to Be Considered in Research and Its Related Activities Lecturer: Specially Appointed Professor Ken-ichi Inaho, URA Center, Tohoku University. Patent attorney Topic: During the ever-advancing digitization under the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more and more aspects of research activities as well as related activities such as educational activities and research support activities in which copyright must be taken into consideration. In this lecture, Prof. Inaho will explain the copyright system and practices that need to be considered in each of the three cases: writing articles, which is one of the most important research activities; various classes as educational activities; and public relations and outreach as research support activities. Language: Japanese and English   Host: Tohoku Initiative for Fostering Global Researchers for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TI-FRIS) Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University   Eligible Participants: Faculty and staff members and students belonging to TI-FRIS participating universities (Hirosaki University, Iwate University, Tohoku University, Akita University, Yamagata University, Fukushima University, Miyagi University of Education)   Registration: Please register using the participation application form here. https://forms.gle/PWnBubAMwF3VTGjs9   Registration Deadline: Noon, Friday, December 2, 2022 (for on-site participation) Noon, Monday, December 12, 2022 (for online participation)     Contact FRIS Managing & Planning Division / TI-FRIS Coordinator: Suzuki, Fujiwara @

Hydrogen has the highest energy density (120 MJ/kg) of all known substances, approximately three times more than diesel or gasoline, meaning it could play a pivotal role in sustainable energy systems. But the efficient production of hydrogen by simple water splitting requires highly performing catalysts.   Now, a collaborative group from Tohoku University and Johns Hopkins University have developed nanoporous molybdenum-based intermetallic compounds that could boost hydrogen production.   Intermetallic compounds in nano-scale formed from non-precious transition metals have the potential to be cost-effective and robust catalysts for hydrogen production. However, the development of monolithic intermetallic compounds, with ample active sites and sufficient electrocatalytic activity, remains a challenge for scientists.   "Our research has played a crucial part in addressing that problem," says Professor Hidemi Kato, from the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University and co-author of the study. "Focusing on design and engineering, we harnessed an advanced dealloying technique for constructing the intermetallic compounds' architecture."   Liquid metal dealloying is a processing technique that utilizes the difference in alloy components' miscibility in a molten metal bath to corrode selected component(s), while retaining the others. It allows for self-organizing into a three-dimensional porous structure.   Furthermore, it enables the pore size to be controlled at the nanometer scale for both μ-Co7Mo6 and μ-Fe7Mo6, which are generally at the micrometer scale for the other metals/alloys when coarsening takes place at equivalent temperatures.   The principle and self-organizing process of liquid metal dealloying. In the precursor alloy (AB), the pore-forming metal (A) and sacrificial component (B) should have a positive and negative enthalpy when mixing with the melt bath (C), respectively. With the component B selectively dissolving into C melt, the remaining component A self-organizes into a porous structure. ©Takeshi Wada and Ruirui Song   The collaborative group then researched the electrocatalytic performance of the new nanoporous intermetallic compounds. It showed promise and potential for use as a commercial HER catalyst for high-current applications.   The results of their research were published in the journal Nature Communications on September 2, 2022.   In addition to Kato, the group comprised Dr. Ruirui Song, also from the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University, Assistant Professor Jiuhui Han from the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) at Tohoku University and Professor Mingwei Chen from Johns Hopkins University.   Looking ahead, the research group hopes to use liquid metal dealloying to develop more monolithic nanoporous intermetallic compounds by exploring the fundamental mechanisms behind general intermetallic phases.     Publication Details Ruirui Song, Jiuhui Han, Masayuki Okugawa, Rodion Belosludov, Takeshi Wada, Jing Jiang, Daixiu Wei, Akira Kudo, Yuan Tian, Mingwei Chen & Hidemi Kato Nature Communications “Ultrafine nanoporous intermetallic catalysts by high-temperature liquid metal dealloying for electrochemical hydrogen production” DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32768-1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32768-1 Press Release: Tohoku University http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/nanoporous_intermetallic_compounds_boost_hydrogen_production.html Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University http://www.imr.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/results/detail---id-1460.html