Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Prof. Hakuto Suzuki of the Creative Interdisciplinary Research Division has been awarded "The Brian R. Coles Prize" at the "International Conference on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems 2023".   This prize is awarded to a person who has made significant contributions to the experimental study or discovery of strongly correlated electron materials and phenomena, and who is active in research no more than 8 years after the PhD.     The reason for the award reads: "For the significant experimental development and creative use of a novel RIXS spectrometer in the tender x-ray region, that opens a new route for the SCES community for impactfully investigating a broad range of correlated electron materials and their physics." https://www.sces2023.org/main/pr_awards.htm    

Number of Positions Seven Assistant Professors (We especially encourage applications from women.) Organization and Department Creative Interdisciplinary Research Division, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan Research Field and Job Description Six research categories (1. Material and Energy, 2. Life and Environment, 3. Information and System, 4. Device and Technology, 5. Human and Society, 6. Advanced Basic Science). Successful applicants will be required to promote interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary sciences as a principal investigator (PI). This recruitment is based on the “Frontier Researchers for Interdisciplinary Sciences Shoshi Program (FRIS Shoshi Program),” which is a university-wide system for fostering young researchers under the Tohoku University Comprehensive Package for Supporting Young Researchers. Please visit the following URL for the details of the “FRIS Shoshi Program.” # FRIS Shoshi Program: https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/about/missions/fostering.html Research Funding The following research funding will be provided. A total of 11 million yen will be provided as basic research expenses over five years (2.5 million yen per year for the first three years, 2 million yen for the fourth year, and 1.5 million yen for the fifth year; flexible execution is possible through carryover). Expenses for overseas travel for presentations at international conferences and collaborative research, expenses for collaborative research with researchers in different fields, expenses for organizing international conferences, and expenses for publishing papers when excellent results are published in open-access journals, will be provided upon review. In addition to the above, successful applicants are expected to actively aim to obtain external competitive funds such as Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research. Required Qualifications PhD degree at the time of appointment Starting Date April 1, 2024 (subject to negotiation) Term 5 years (no reappointment) Based on the FRIS tenure-track system, the tenure review is conducted for assistant professors prior to the completion of the term of appointment. If they pass the review process, they will be appointed as a tenured assistant professor or a fixed-term (5 years) associate professor in FRIS. If they do not pass the review, they will still be employed as a fixed-term (1 year, maximum 2 years) assistant professor after a separate review. Additionally, it may be possible for FRIS assistant professors to continue to be employed as faculty members by other departments or institutes (not guaranteed). For details, please visit the following URL. # Tenure track system of FRIS: https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/about/tenure-track.html Remuneration An annual salary and allowance will be provided in accordance with Tohoku University’s regulations Remarks on Application Applicants should select one of the above six research categories to which they wish to apply and describe it in their proposal. Please note that the research category will be reviewed and may be changed by the selection committee. Applicants should select a professor or associate professor of the University (but not a visiting or specially appointed professor) as their mentor. Applicants are required to obtain the prior consent of the mentor regarding the internal regulations on the mentors and the attached description of the responsibilities of mentors shown at the URL below. When selecting a mentor, applicants are expected to experience a variety of research environments, for example, by selecting a mentor from other than the applicant’s former laboratories. The TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Researchers website at the URL below is also helpful. # Internal regulations on the mentors and the responsibilities of mentors https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/media/files/mentorregulations_rev20220620_EN.pdf (English) https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/media/files/mentorregulations_rev20220620_JP.pdf (Japanese) # TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Researchers: https://www.r-info.tohoku.ac.jp/ Application Deadline Applications should be uploaded by 17:00, Wednesday, July 26, 2023 (JST) Requested Documents Please submit the following documents by following “How to Apply.” All documents should be prepared in PDF format and the total file size must not exceed 10 MB. Please use our provided format for (1) and (4), which can be downloaded from our website as shown below. (1) ▶Resume Form 2023 (4) ▶Proposal Form   (1) Curriculum Vitae (Please be sure to use our provided format, and to include your photograph, current postal and e-mail addresses, and your phone number in the resume.) (2) List of research achievements such as publications (original papers, international conference proceedings, and books and commentaries), conference presentations (distinguish between domestic and international, contributed and invited presentations), awards, patents, competitive research funds, achievements collaboration, other notable items, etc. (3) Brief statement detailing your research achievements (less than 400 words) (4) Research proposal (in our provided format, within 4 pages) (5) One letter of recommendation (in any format) (6) Brief introduction of up to 5 major papers (preferably with journal impact factor and number of citations) or up to 5 major achievements (NOT necessary of a copy of each paper or achievement) How to Apply Please apply from the following application website. After completing the pre-registration, please register using the URL you will be notified of and upload the required documents from “My Page.” After the upload of your documents is complete, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to you. Application website https://rct4osp.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en # You can also visit above website from the recruitment information posted on FRIS’s website below. https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/ Inquiries Professor Junji Saida, Managing and Planning Division, FRIS E-mail: kikaku_atmk_fris.tohoku.ac.jp (Please replace “_atmk_” with “@”) Others An information session for this recruitment will be held online on Monday, June 19, 2023 from 14:30 to 15:00. If you wish to attend, please register below. Information session registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pdOCqqzgoG932Fqj-YeZnEef4Drh4rScd Added June 22, 2023: The information session has ended. The recording of the session (except for the Q&A part) and the questions and answers are now available. - Recording of the information session - Questions and answers After the first screening (examination of application documents), successful candidates will be contacted for an online interview scheduled on Friday, September 29, Monday, October 2, or Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Detailed announcements will be informed by early September 2023.   FRIS is developing FRIS CoRE (Cooperative Research Environment), a new form of “start-up support” proposed by young researchers at FRIS to promote interdisciplinary fusion and explore the frontiers of knowledge, by providing under-one-roof access to basic research facilities in different fields (a research environment that enables a series of daily experiments and discussions). Currently, the experimental facilities are for life science, chemistry, and engineering, but in the future, FRIS CoRE will expand to a collaborative environment that includes researchers in the humanities and social sciences. The FRIS CoRE will also provide facilities in fields different from the mentor's expertise. Please visit the following website for the status of the FRIS CoRE. # FRIS CoRE: https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/fris_core/en/   Tohoku University promotes gender equality and encourages people of varied talents from all backgrounds to apply for positions at the university.   Pursuant to Article 8 of the Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment, Tohoku University shall, as a measure for increasing the presence of women among the academic staff, prioritize the hiring of women deemed qualified for each job opening, based on impartial evaluation.   Tohoku University has the largest on-campus childcare system of all Japanese national universities. This network comprises three nurseries: Kawauchi Keyaki Nursery school (capacity: 22) and Aobayama Midori Nursery school (116), both open to all university employees, as well as Hoshinoko Nursery school (120), which is open to employees working on Tohoku University Hospital. In addition, Tohoku University Hospital runs a childcare room for mildly ill and convalescent children which is available to all university employees.   See the following website for information on these and other programs that Tohoku University runs to assist work-life balance, to support researchers, and to advance gender equality. # Tohoku University Center for Gender Equality Promotion: http://tumug.tohoku.ac.jp/en/   In cases where the person hired for this position takes childcare leave, the term of employment may be extended by up to the number of days taken off for that leave, if such extension is deemed necessary for educational and/or research purposes. # Tohoku University Human Resource Department: https://c.bureau.tohoku.ac.jp/jinji-top/external/a-4-kosodate/

Assistant Professor Sai Sun received Tohoku University ECEI Excellent Young Researcher Award (東北大学電気・情報系若手優秀研究賞).   This award awards young researchers who have published many leading papers in excellent journals.  

A research group led by Dr. Yuanyuan Guo of the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) has developed a neural device that detects specific neurotransmitters in the brain with high sensitivity and selectivity by combining multifunctional fibers and DNA molecular probes.   Details of their research were published in the journal Analytical Chemistry on April 24, 2023. Figure: The aptamer-coupled microelectrode fiber sensors (apta-μFS) for neurochemical sensing. (Credit: T. Saizaki et al.) It is estimated that over a billion people suffer from brain disorders worldwide. Current therapeutic techniques use electrical modalities to establish an interface with the brain. This typically involves electrodes being used to read electrical potential or deliver electrical currents to specific tissues of organs in the body.   However, cells inside the brain communicate with each other via chemical signals, and thus researchers have been looking for ways to measure and manipulate both the electrical and chemical signals.   One such breakthrough in this regard has been microscopic, thermally-drawn microelectronic fiber-based neural probes that can act as an interface with the brain across electrical, chemical, optical, and mechanical modalities. Still, the capabilities of this technology for studying intrinsic in-brain chemistry have yet to be explored, and few attempts have studied how it could be integrated with multi-modal and multi-level brain studies.   “We expanded the capabilities of the fibers to include neurochemical sensing,” says Dr. Yuanyuan Guo, associate professor at Tohoku University's Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), and leader of the research group. “We coupled aptamers, a new type of biosensor comprising a single strand of synthetic DNA with customizable sequences, on the microelectronic fibers. These defined aptamers sense neurochemicals with high sensitivity and high selectivity.”   Aptamers can be thought of as keys that specifically unlock the locks of certain target molecules. Like a key fits into a specific lock and opens it, an aptamer can bind to a specific molecule and interact with it in a selective manner.   In the study, the defined aptamer sequences bound to specific molecules with a high affinity, inducing a reversible three-dimensional conformational change from a relatively simple chain structure into a complex structure wrapping around targets. Aptamers were tagged with ferrocene as an electrochemical readout for target molecule and aptamer binding.   The research group focused on dopamine due to its physiological significance in mediating learning behavior and motivation. But Guo points out that this sensing mechanism is applicable to other molecules regardless of their charge or electrochemical profile. “Our discovery provides a universal method for fiber surface modification, to monitor wide-range molecules of interest.”   Ultimately, the breakthrough will hopefully enable the development of new brain research and methods for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the brain and organs that have not been elucidated to date. Publication Details Title: The development of aptamer-coupled microelectrode fiber sensors (apta-μFS) for highly selective neurochemical sensing Authors: Tomoki Saizaki, Mahiro Kubo, Yuichi Sato, Hiroya Abe, Tomokazu Ohshiro, Hajime Mushiake, Fabien Sorin and Yuanyuan Guo* (*corresponding author) Journal: Analytical Chemistry DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05046 Press Release: Tohoku University https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/reading_chemicals_inside_brain_aptamer_microelectronic_fiber_combination.html School of Engineering, Tohoku University https://www.eng.tohoku.ac.jp/english/news/detail-,-id,2528.html School of Medicine, Tohoku University https://www.med.tohoku.ac.jp/english/news/press/912/

The Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, plans to recruit approximately seven assistant professors beginning in 2024. For details, please refer to the Call for Applications to be posted on the Institute's website on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.   An information session for this recruitment will be held online in the afternoon of Monday, June 19, 2023 (Japan Standard Time). Registration for the information session will also be announced in the Call for Applications.   Outline of Recruitment (tentative) ※ Please be sure to check the Call for Applications before applying. Number of Positions Approximately Seven Assistant Professors Research Field and Job Description Six research categories (1. Material and Energy, 2. Life and Environment, 3. Information and System, 4. Device and Technology, 5. Human and Society, 6. Advanced Basic Science). Successful applicants will be required to promote interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary sciences as a principal investigator (PI) Required Qualifications PhD degree at the time of appointment Term 5 years (May continue to be hired as a tenured assistant professor or a fixed-term associate professor upon review.) Starting Date April 1, 2024 (subject to negotiation) Application Deadline Late July 2023 Requested Documents The following are planned, but please be sure to check the Call for Applications. Curriculum Vitae (in our provided format) List of research achievements Brief statement detailing your research achievements Research proposal (in our provided format) One letter of recommendation Brief introduction of up to 5 major papers or up to 5 major achievements

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Alain Aspect, John Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for their works on "quantum nonlocality" in quantum mechanics. Quantum nonlocality is a phenomenon where connected particles can affect each other instantly, regardless of the distance separated.   Imagine you owned a pair of gloves. These gloves are a pair and therefore correlated in some way, no matter how far apart they are. One day, you place one of the gloves into your backpack and hop on a flight to travel to another country, while the other glove remains at home. According to quantum nonlocality, if you changed the color of the glove you brought with you, the color of the glove back home would instantaneously change too, despite being separated by a large distance.   Nonlocality violates many of the concepts predicted by classical physics, where particles' properties are predetermined and change occurs only through direct physical interaction or fields propagated at a finite speed. Nonlocality has a wide array of implications for understanding the future of reality, quantum mechanics, and the development of quantum technologies.   There exist several ways to define and interpret nonlocality. For instance, a set of mathematical expressions called the Bell and CHSH inequalities demonstrates nonlocality by violating inequalities. Meanwhile, Lucien Hardy proposed an alternative interpretation of quantum nonlocality in 1992 when he developed the Hardy Paradox.   Suppose there are three quantities A, B, and C, where A is greater than B and B is greater than C. Intuitively, and according to a fundamental mathematical property known as the transitive property (or local hidden variable theories in physics), this would render A greater than C. However, Hardy noted that there is still room for a situation where C is greater than A. This violates the transitive property, and such violations are possible in the quantum world when particles are entangled with each other. In other words, this is nonlocality.   We can use "rock-paper-scissors" to imagine this. While it is evident that rock beats scissors and scissors beat paper, it is impossible for the rock to beat paper. Paper beating rock does not align with any mathematical reasoning, hence why it is a paradox.   Figure 1: The Hardy nonlocality can be interpreted as a rock-paper-scissors game: while rock beats scissors and scissors beat paper, it is impossible for the rock to beat the paper; instead, the paper beats the rock, which causes a paradox, i.e., nonlocality. ©Tohoku University A recent study, published in the journal American Physical Review A, has made interesting revelations about the Hardy nonlocality. The study was co-authored by Dr. Le Bin Ho from Tohoku University's Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS).   "The Hardy nonlocality has significant implications for understanding fundamental quantum mechanics, and it is vital for strengthening the probability of nonlocal," said Le. "We used quantum computers and methods to investigate the measurement of Hardy nonlocality to improve its probability."   Le and his colleagues did this by proposing a theoretical framework for attaining a higher nonlocal probability. They verified this by using a theoretical model and a quantum simulation. Despite previous studies showing the opposite, they discovered that nonlocal probability increases as the number of particles grows. This suggests that quantum effects persist even at larger scales, further challenging classical theories of physics.   Le says these findings have important ramifications for understanding quantum mechanics and its potential applications in communications. "Understanding quantum nonlocality can lead to groundbreaking technological advancements, such as the secure transmission of information through quantum communication via nonlocality resources."   Figure 2: The nonlocal probability increases as the number of particles grows, which differs from previous studies. ©Tohoku University Publication Details: Title: Increased success probability in Hardy's nonlocality: Theory and demonstration Authors: Duc Minh Tran, Van-Duy Nguyen, Le Bin Ho, Hung Q. Nguyen Journal: Physical Review A DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.107.042210 Press Release: Tohoku University https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/searching_for_stronger_nonlocality_using_quantum_computers.html

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 @).

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 @).

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