Neues vom JSPS-Club 02/2024

Neues vom JSPS-Club 02/2024 (2.1 MB)

EVENTS

27th German-Japanese Symposium at TU Braunschweig

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo (courtesy of JSPS Bonn Office)

On the 24th and 25th of May 2024, the 27th annual joint symposium of the JSPS Club and the JSPS Bonn Office took place at the Technical University (TU) Braunschweig. The topic was “How we can learn by Nature”, covering a wide range of scientific disciplines.

Welcome remarks were spoken by Chairman Heinrich Menkhaus, Consul General from Hamburg, Shinsuke Toda, Manfred Krafczyk, Vice President for Digitalization and Sustainability at the TU Braunschweig and Tobias Braunsberger, President of the German-Japanese Society (DJG) Braunschweig, Peine and Wolfsburg.

Heinrich Menkhaus mentioned the next symposium in Munich in 2025 and plans for a 30th anniversary meeting in Japan in fall 2025. He thanked Christiane Luthardt as the local organizer and JSPS Bonn Office for planning the symposium. Consul Toda has assumed his position last October and mentioned his frequent visits to Braunschweig and underlined the importance of the scientific exchange between the TU Braunschweig and Japanese cooperation partners. He indicated the very active role of the JSPS Bonn Office, the DJG and the JSPS Club in scientific exchange and congratulated Heinrich Menkhaus for being commended the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government (a report of the award ceremony is upcoming). Manfred Krafczyk pointed out the relevance of minding nature in the future development of mankind, specifically with regard to cooperation. He mentioned that Japanese-German scientific relations are a great example for this cooperation. Tobias Braunsberger underlined the general public interest in topics related to Japan. He also made the point that it is necessary to meet in person to establish and continue contacts with Japan and informed about the Hanami picnic together with a bento contest by the local DJG. He also congratulated Heinrich Menkhaus on the order commended and thanked Christiane Luthardt and the JSPS Bonn Office for organizing the symposium in Braunschweig. He also mentioned an exhibition of a Japanese artist, Midori Harada, which was running during the respective weekend.

The first speaker of the symposium was Siegwart Graf (Count) zu Eulenburg und Hertefeld, a descendant of Friedrich-Albrecht Graf von Eulenburg. Siegwart Graf zu Eulenburg und Hertefeld, himself a great Japan enthusiast, talked about “The Eulenburg Mission in 1861 as a prelude to friendly and scientific relations between Germany and Japan” by his ancestor (his great-great-uncle). He explained about the background that the mission fell upon, a more than 250 year-long lasting peace and the end of the bakufu (military bureaucratic system) era and the arrival of the black ships and Commodore Perry in 1853, starting the relationships with England with an unequal treaty. Eulenburg was born in 1815, was a 4th son, and had not much money. The family was seated in Koenigsberg. However, he was raised by a distant, well-off relative. He was apparently very gifted in languages and other sciences and had a famous mentor (Eduard von Simson). Eulenburg was appointed the leader of the Prussian East Asia Squadron 1860 on the flagship Arcona. The mission started with more than 700 people, between them scientists, soldiers, diplomats; but it was a high-risk undertaking and many party-members died. The diplomat of England offered his translator to help the mission, a Dutchman Henry Heusken, who was later murdered in Japan. The outcome were scientific publications on agriculture, economy, zoology, etc. Four book volumes on Japan were published as an outcome. At the time, William the 1st was king in Prussia, with Germany before unification, both countries were in the state of transition. 1861, the Prussian-Japanese treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation was signed. This treaty was exhibited a few years ago in Mannheim. Following up was the Iwakura mission, which led prince Iwakura and students to Germany, leading again to the change of the unequal treaties mentioned earlier.

The first scientific session “Learning from Animals and Plants: Biomimetics in Engineering” was chaired by board member Matthias Hofmann. The first speaker, Hiroto Tanaka (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Engineering) talked about “Biomimetic Studies on Flying and Swimming Animals”. The first man to fly, inspired by birds, was Otto Lilienthal in 1891. Aircraft is the most successful example for biomimetics. The keys factors for mimetics are 1) to understand the physical mechanisms, 2) simplification of design, 3) realization with available technologies, 4) innovation of new technologies and 5) feedback to biology. The research by Tanaka includes hummingbirds and penguins. Features of animals are flexible wings, flapping propulsion and non-smooth surface. Hummingbirds flap their wings with 29 Hz per second and also distort the wings with each stroke. In the lab, Tanaka and his team set up a bat-hummingbird hybrid model with characteristics of a hummingbird structure of the wing and bat-like membrane. Penguins have more stiff and bony and thicker wings. They use wing bending to improve propulsion. A robot penguin was created, mimicking natural movements of the penguin. Moreover, feather structure with reduced yaw angles was created.

The second speaker in this session, Albert Baars (Hochschule Bremen, Biomimetic Innovation Center) presented his talk “Reduction of Frictional Drag at Liquid-solid Interfaces Inspired by the Water Fern Salvinia Molesta”. One example of mimetics is the cleaning effect of lotus flowers, which have a hydrophobic surface or riblet foils for planes from shark skin, reducing the drag. If one wants to deform fluids, it needs force. Salvina Molesta is a water fern from Brazil. It is an invasive species of concern. The surface structure, retaining oxygen, though, is interesting, reducing drag. This leads to possible applications of similar structures for ships, pipes, gentle transport of liquids, etc. However, surface structures need to be added to retain the oxygen; volume flow and velocity will then be increasing.

In the second part of the symposium “Learning from Earth”, convened by Club member Niklas Kolbe, the first speaker Makoto Taniguchi (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature), a hydrologist, talked about “Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Humanity and Nature”. Taniguchi explained about different classifications of interaction with nature: living from, in, with and as nature. He indicated that nature is at the bottom of society and humanity. He informed that industrialization was made possible by abundant water and imported fuel that led to environmental problems. A model of the water-food environment nexus showed the interdependence between food production that consumes a lot of water. Moreover, the global economy leads to stronger externalization, leading to the fact that consumers do not know sources of food and are not knowledgeable about production circumstances. In general, hydrological and meteorological events have increased 3-fold in the last 30–40 years. It is therefore important to be aware of the water-energy-food trade-off and systems and to bridge between short- and long-term and selfish vs. altruistic behavior regarding resources. One example was shown from Mt. Aso area, where groundwater is recovered by the use of groundwater in rice paddies outside the city without the need for additional water allocation resources. Another example showing the importance of being aware of resources is information of hotel guests on the water they used in the shower. Being aware of the amount of water used decreased the use by 10%. Tanaka pointed out that to synthetize the rhythm of nature and blur boundaries between culture and nature is a better way, e.g. as in the Engawa, the porch in traditional Japanese houses, which is part of the house and the garden, creating a multi-purpose space.

Last speaker of the day way Anna Katharina Miesner (Hamburg University) on “Marine Biological Forecast - Untapping the Potential of Species-Environment Relationships”. Global changes can lead to local changes of fish distribution, e.g. tuna has been found near Greenland in recent times. This will probably continue until the end of the century in Northern Europe and in East Asia, which poses conflict potential on fish resources. Marine forecasts are helpful for distributional information of turtles, whales, etc. in order to minimize them being caught in fishing endeavors. Here, underlying environmental variables are needed for forecasts. The North Atlantic is the most predictable ocean, and the fish Blue Whiting is a case study in the North Atlantic. It meets near the British Isles to spawn. Warm saline conditions lead to a greater spread of the fish. Continuous plankton recorder (CPR) is a 55-year-old way of measuring which can be modified to the spawning conditions of Blue Whiting. CPR, other sources and information of salinity and temperature were used to calculate models on the spawning ground. Salinity was an important predictor of spawning. Salinity, on the other hand, was predicted by the Earth System Model of Max-Planck-Institute, but it is only suitable within the spawning region. These models can also predict the spawning habitat over time (inter-annual) for quota allocations and management strategies and long-term investments.

Dinner took place at the German restaurant “Lord Helmchen” including the JSPS Alumni Club Award Ceremony 2024, the award commended to Koji Ishikawa, Center for Molecular Biology of the University of Heidelberg, a fellow of the JSPS Leading Initiative for Excellent Young Researchers (LEADER). Please see the upcoming section for further details.

On May 25th, the session “Learning from the Human Body: Biosignals and Biomechanics” was convened by local organizer Christiane Luthardt. The first speaker of the day was Natsue Yoshimura of Tokyo Institute of Technology. In her talk “A Map in the Brain: Neural Representation and Individual Differences”, she informed about her research work with EEG (Electroencephalography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Natsue Yoshimura summarized information on the functionality of the brain and use cases, e.g. human brain machine interfaces (BMI) using robots or the Neuralink by Elon Musk with a brain-implanted chip. However, non-invasive methods are used in her lab, e.g. the EEG to utilize robotic arms to grab and reach. Also, in Aphasia (motoric and sensory), a use case was presented. It has been shown that tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) is helpful in Broca’s aphasia, a condition of difficulties to speak after brain stroke. EEG can help identify areas for customized tDCS and data was presented where the customized tDCS helped in naming a stimulus faster. Another use case is lockedin syndrome and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). As representations of functions in the brain are dynamic after training, training might help change the brain function and help patients communicate. E.g. galvanic vestibular stimulation can be used to generate a bodily response that equals the answer yes/no by thinking of the answer.

The second talk was by Markus Böl of TU Braunschweig on “Multiscale/Multifield Experiments and Modelling in Biomechanics – From the Single Cells to the Whole Organs”. Markus Böl introduced information about muscular extracellular matrix which makes up around 10% of the muscle. With age, the fibers become thicker. After a couple of tension and compression experiments in fibers and tissues, it was found that the tissue scale behavior was much different as compared to the fiber level. A virtual geometry model of muscle was built on the basis of the histological sections and load cases were calculated, leading finally to 3-D experimental models that can simulate again manipulations of the muscle. This may inform medicine about microscopic problems underlying the macroscopy muscle damage.

In the last part of the symposium, convener Katja Koelkebeck (JSPS Club board member) introduced Sho Tsuji of the University of Tokyo. Tsuji talked about “How and Why are Human Infants so Good at Learning their Native Language(s)?”. She let the audience know that language is the most complex task in environment and development. Language has many functions and possible descriptions, e.g. communication and a system of rules and conventions. It is also used to describe the world. Early language experiences have an impact on all kinds of achievements, e.g. academic ones. Languages are diverse, consonants can range from 6-100 in number, however, babies are really good at learning their own languages. Japan is an interesting comparison country for Western industrialized democratic countries. P and B are easy to learn, as they are easy to perceive. But, dirty sounds are rare in Japanese, while they are frequent in Western countries. Children tune very early to their specific sound systems, starting from universal listening. Ambivalence can be reduced by gathering evidence and then testing hypotheses (e.g. when they learn about the names of things). Or, they could learn associatively. Tsuji asked the question “What helps children learn the language?” It seems that babies only learn from live persons as compared to video-recordings. The interactivity seems to play a very important role. Eye-tracking has helped identifying that babies learn in the interaction situation only. In a Kakenhi project with RIKEN by Sho Tsuji, she showed that French children learn without interactivity, which might be due to the reactivity of the mothers. Vests are used in her lab for video and sound recording. There are strong differences in linguistic environments, resulting in more or less input, partly due to the social/working status of the mothers. It creates more opportunity to learn.

The closing remarks were spoken by JSPS Bonn Office director Masahiko Hayashi, who extended his thanks to the local organizer for setting up the program and all the speakers, board members and JSPS staff, as well congratulating Heinrich Menkhaus to his commendation of the order. Almost 100 people have participated in the symposium. After the symposium, a guided tour through Braunschweig city took place.

Mentoring Program Event in Braunschweig

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: C. Luthardt (courtesy of the JSPS Bonn Office)

On the 24th of May 2024, at the site of the Symposium of the JSPS Club and the JSPS Bonn Office in Braunschweig joint annual symposium, an event for young people interested in research in Japan took place before the official start of the symposium. Two experience reports on research stays in Japan were presented together with the opportunity for networking. After greeting remarks by Chairman of the JSPS Club, Heinrich Menkhaus, the local organizer and JSPS Club member, Christiane Luthardt, who is a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, explained about her experience with study and research stays in Japan. This included pressing questions for students and researchers as housing, financing, etc. as well as personal cultural experiences and insider tips. Christian Arsene from the physical-technical federal institute (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) working in bioorganic mass-spectrometry talked about his visit to a guest institute in Japan. He gave insights into his professional and cultural experiences, showing data on his research work on the quantification of isoform specific growth hormones in children with growth retardation. He explained that based on his research, a doping measurement, e.g. for participants in the Olympic Games, has been developed. After the presentations, board member Matthias Hofmann explained about JSPS programs, specifically the Summer Program. A Q&A session led by Christiane Luthardt with the present students followed. About 15 young people took part and were interested mostly in stays for studying and master’s theses.

JSPS Alumni Club Award 2024

by Saskia Schimmel, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo, from left: K. Ishikawa, H. Menkhaus, S. Schimmel (courtesy of the JSPS Bonn Office)

The JACA Award Ceremony for Dr. Koji Ishikawa took place on May 24th 2024 during the joint JSPS Club and JSPS Bonn Office Symposium in Braunschweig. The German JSPS Alumni Association awarded Dr. Koji Ishikawa with the JSPS Alumni Club Award 2024, the JACA Prize.

Dr. Koji Ishikawa has been engaged in molecular biology research at the University of Heidelberg since 2018. During this time, he received a JSPS Overseas Research Fellowship from 2021 to 2023.

The JACA Prize recognizes Dr. Ishikawa for his contributions to revitalizing the research exchange between Japan and Germany after the COVID-19 pandemic, which had led to a dramatic decrease in researchers traveling between the two countries. When attending an orientation event for newly arrived Overseas Research Fellows in Germany organized by the JSPS Bonn Office in October 2022, he recognized the demand for even better networking opportunities for his peers.

To improve the situation, he gathered a team of peers and joined forces with the Japanese Embassy and the JSPS Bonn Office to establish networking events for a broader group of participants, so that a broader spectrum of career advice and other expertise could be shared amongst participants at the events. The first event in February 2023 and the second event in September 2023 each attracted a remarkable number of over 70 researchers, compared to 30 participants or fewer at comparable events in the past.

We congratulate Dr. Ishikawa and wish him all the best for his future. The JACA Prize 2024 includes a flight ticket and a travel allowance of up to 500 EUR.

Additional links to Dr. Koji Ishikawa:
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8241-9523
Researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/koji_ishikawa

Read more about the eulogy and reception speech at https://www.jsps-club.de/en/awards/jsps-alumni-club-award/2024.

Report on the Second Symposium of the four European Researchers Associations in Japan

by Heinrich Menkhaus, Chairman of the JSPS Club and Country Representative Japan

Photo (courtesy of the 4 European Researchers Institutions in Japan)

Photo (courtesy of the 4 European Researchers Institutions in Japan)

Last year, the four European Researchers Associations in Japan, namely the French Sciencescope, the Spanish Asociación de Científicos Españoles en Japón - ACE Japón, the Italian Associazione dei Ricercatori Italiani in Giappone and the JSPS Club organized their first symposium in Japan at the EU Delegation in Tokyo (NvC 3/2023: Report on First Symposium of European Researchers in Japan). On April 20th 2024, the second one could be realized under the title “Workshop on Horizon-Europe Opportunities in Japan”.

The participants were welcomed by the Ambassador of the European Delegation in Japan, Jean-Eric Paquet, who talked about the recent visit of the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research and Culture, Ms. Iliana Ivanova, to Japan. Surprisingly, Japan has not yet agreed to become an associated member of the European Horizon program, which would enable Japanese institutions to run research projects partly with money from the EU.

The Science Attaché of the EU Delegation in Japan, Mr. Gijs Berends, then added that given the size of challenges facing the globe, the problems cannot only be solved by state cooperation in research, keeping in mind that the new technologies threaten humanity and democracy. He discussed the hesitation of Japan to become an associated member to the Horizon program, naming as possible reasons undeveloped networks, the English language barrier, the preference of bilateral research, the availability of sufficient financing and the superiority of the United States as a partner.

Ms. Fumiko Oda from the EU Japan Center for Industrial Cooperation, which functions as the National Contact Point of the Horizon Europe Program Japan, gave an overview of the Horizon Program under the title: “How to participate from Japan”.

In the following section, three European researchers in Japan talked about their experience with one of the scholarship programs the EU is offering for performing research in Japan, namely the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). They compared the MSCA Global Fellowship with the MSCA Individual Fellowship on the one hand and the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship on the other hand. It was left open to question, whether these scholarships take into consideration that the social security system of the home state of the applicant is left and the social security system in Japan is entered, which causes additional expenses. It is also unclear whether the scholarships cover the additional costs of accompanying dependents.

The final session then dealt with the participation of European Researchers in Japan in Horizon co-financed research projects. JSPS Club member Lorenz Granrath gave an interesting insight in the projects he was involved in. His speech will be featured in this edition of the newsletter.

It is important to notice that almost all Club members in Japan obviously never were involved in a Horizon-financed project in Japan, or in one of its predecessor projects under the abbreviation FD. And the interest in doing so also seems to be limited, as the number of JSPS Club members in the event was again very low compared with the participants from Italy, Spain and France. The outturn of Polish colleagues was positive, and there was also one participant from Ukraine. It will, however, still be a long way to reach out to the researchers in Japan from many other member states of the EU, because they do not have their own associations and their embassies in Japan lack science attachés.

Science and Technology Cooperation Germany Japan and Experiences from FP7 and FP8 (Horizon) Projects

by Lorenz Granrath, member of the JSPS Club

I started in Japan in 2001, building up the Fraunhofer Representative Office and was involved with scientific networking up to establishing a Fraunhofer Project Centre for MEMS (Mechanical Electrical Microsystems) at Tohoku University in 2012. The main focus however was on contract research projects for Japanese Industry, which resulted in projects for many major Japanese companies in many different fields. These projects were all focused on developing some technology fitting to the application in the respective company and were done in a very cooperative and positive manner.

Working more towards application oriented basic research, public funding is needed, and the EU and Japan negotiated on the Science & Technology (S&T) Agreement that was signed in 2009, but came into force only in 2011.

At Fraunhofer, we initiated already one of the first projects designed for this new scheme and EURASIAPAC started in 2010, before the ratification. So the Fraunhofer Representative Office Japan was the official partner on the Japanese side, and we outsourced the project to National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

Looking now at the Science and Technology cooperation between Germany and Japan, I would like to hint at the different development of S&T in both countries.

Differences Germany and Japan

Japan was closed to the outside world during the Tokugawa Shogunate and developed excellent craftsmanship, but had science contacts only through few foreigners living on the Dejima Island. In the Meiji Restauration (1868-1912) Japan opened, started the first seven Imperial Universities and began industrialization. The technologies were imported and organized by the companies and their contacts to the outside world. Japan is characterized by big industrial groups – the Keiretsu – that run own research labs with Hitachi even opening a central research lab in 1943. Japanese industry did not rely much on the transfer from science in Japan.

Germany, however, is characterized by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) that do not have any own research labs but sometimes have products dominating a niche market. They rely on the Fraunhofer Institutes that develop technology directly applicable with now 30 000 staff and are a big pillar for the German industry. A similar organization does not exist in Japan.

For scientific collaborations, it should be considered that many scientific institutes in Japan are far away from applications. Especially in EU projects, a possible commercial benefit is however asked for, so that the selection of institutes and suitable companies is essential.

I. RWCP (1997-2002)
Real World Computing Partnership

Photo: Hand-eye robot system at GMD for the RWCP project (courtesy of L. Granrath)

My first experience with a Japanese-German project started in 1997, when I became Liaison Officer Asia at GMD (German National IT Research Centre) that was participating in the Japanese National Project “Real World Computing Partnership RWCP” (1993-2002) that tried to emulate human-like information processing. GMD worked on a parallel computer language (PROMISE language) and in its GMD Theory Lab on a very interesting Hand-Eye Robot system that could understand gestures and react to them.

The project was successful in case of software and applications; however, PC clusters proved to be sufficient instead of new supercomputers that had been hoped for. Many big Japanese companies participated, NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi and institutes like AIST, with which also GMD started good collaboration. To work with Japan was an enrichment for the German partners.

During my time as Fraunhofer Representative, AIST Supervisory Innovation Coordinator, I could initiate the following EU-Japan projects.

II. EURASIAPAC (2010-2011)

Figures: Partners of the EURASIAPAC project

The aim of EURASIAPAC was to initiate collaborations in ICT (information and communications technology) between EU and Southeast Asia, especially the countries of Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Only research institutes, in Japan AIST participated through Fraunhofer. The research priorities could be analyzed, but the big conference in Tokyo on March 15, 2011 had to be cancelled due to the Fukushima earthquake and accident on March 11th. Unfortunately, the project framework did not allow to repeat it later in 2011, which would have been possible, so much thrive was lost. At least at the final conference in Europe in 2012 also Japanese partners participated.

III. NGCPV (FP7 2011-13)
Next Generation Concentrator PV

The idea of NGCPV is the use of a very high efficient PV (photovoltaic) cell with a concentrator lens. The cell is very expensive, but the lens system concentrates the light and the overall system is very effective but less expensive than pure PV cells.

Very good institutes, like Fraunhofer ISE, CEA (The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) and AIST, Toyota Technology Institute (TTI) joined with excellent companies. The result: new record efficiency PV cell (44.4%) from Sharp and a power plant by Daido Steel set up for tests in Spain which has strong direct sunlight.

IV. JEDI-ACE (FP7 2012-15)
Japanese-European De-Icing Aircraft Collaborative Exploration

Figure: Structure in the JEDI-ACE project

The group developed an innovative concept of an integrated ice protection system, with combined passive anti-icing coating, active de-icing devices and ice sensors. The system will be applicable to aircraft wings and will support an important technological milestone: the composite wing concept, which today includes also morphing properties.

The group was a good combination of excellent institutes like JAXA, Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Fraunhofer and aircraft makers like Airbus, Dassault, Subaru and NTT AT.

V. InTouchAI.Eu (2021-22)
International outreach for human-centric artificial intelligence initiative

Photo: Video conference of the project partners L. Granrath (left), A. Jaquet, team leader Gianluca Misuraca (right lower part) and H. Hoos (small picture to the right) (courtesy of L. Granrath)

The InTouchAi.eu project was an international outreach to promote human-centric AI and a collaboration in that field. During my time as Project Professor at Tohoku University, me and Aurelie Jaquet for Australia and Dr. Holger Hoos for Canada, were the Nonkey Experts. After a very good start with a mapping of the AI landscapes in the three countries, the projected three-year project however stopped after half a year and the analysis of human centricity, monitoring of developments and connection of like-minded partners was not done and our networks at that time were not used. The reason remained unclear.

VI. e-VITA (2022-24)
Virtual Coach for Smart Aging

Figure: Partners in the e-VITA project

As the world’s population is growing older, our societies need to find ways to support older people’s capabilities to age well. The EU-funded e-VITA project is a joint collaboration funded by the EU and the Japanese Ministry MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). Twenty-two European and Japanese partners will develop a sociotechnical coaching system for community-dwelling older adults. Based on the users’ needs and abilities, the virtual coach will provide smart support for aging well at home by promoting physical activity, cognitive training, and social interaction with other persons in the community around them.

During the project, some changes in the group led to sub-sufficient performance. In EU, no company was involved and in Japan only small companies that did not really contribute. In the EU, Fraunhofer only had a minor role and dropped out. In Japan, AIST received the most funding but belongs to another ministry than MIC and did not support the project from the top, so that the requested amount of researchers was not provided.

Additionally, the Japanese funding organization MIC had the goal of standardization, which the EU group did not share, and a coordination did not take place. So in midterm, JQA (Japan Quality Assurance) left the group as one important partner.

Some results however could be achieved:

Conclusions

As HORIZON EUROPE “supports the creation and better diffusion of excellent knowledge and technologies”, an importance should be paid to have partners that can develop an application. Very important is to have a common, achievable, and motivating goal of both groups in the EU and Japan. Very helpful are good industrial partners, in Japan usually big companies.

For such usually big projects, very experienced research managers are necessary that have experience with application-oriented research. Such people can be found in Fraunhofer as well as in big Japanese companies. The great value of international collaboration however should be emphasized, it could be seen in all the projects I have experienced where the participating organizations and researchers benefitted even if they had to solve some organizational issues.

Nippon Connection Film Festival 2024

by Aiko Möhwald, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: JSPS Club stand at the Nippon Connection, from left to right: S. Mochimaru, A. Möhwald and J. Wennmann (courtesy of A. Möhwald)

The 24th Nippon Connection Film Festival took place from May 28th to June 2nd in Frankfurt am Main. Nippon Connection has become the largest platform for Japanese cinema worldwide with over 19,000 participants in 2024. More than 100 feature films, anime, documentaries, and short films were presented throughout the festival. There were also various Japan-related programs, which included workshops, lectures, panel discussions, performances, exhibitions, and stands with delicious Japanese food.

On May 30th, the JSPS Club had a stand at the festival at the Mousonturm location to present the JSPS fellowship programs and the activities of the Club. The Club was represented by Shiori Mochimaru, Jörg Wennmann and Aiko Möhwald. During the day, a large number of people visited our stand and showed great interest in the various scholarship opportunities. Aiko Möhwald was able to report on her experiences with the Summer Program, while member Jörg Wennmann reported about his experiences as a postdoc in Japan with the fellowship program.

German-Japanese Economy Forum on the Hannover Messe

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: Photo (courtesy of K. Koelkebeck)

On the occasion of the Hannover Messe, the 17th German-Japanese Economy Forum took place on the 22nd of April 2024, jointly organized by the German-Japanese Economy Circle (DJW) and the ECOS GmbH. The forum was chaired by Anne Pomsel, Manager of the DJW, and Johanna Schilling, Manager of ECOS.

They invited a range of speakers and discussants on the topic of “Heat and resource transition in German and Japanese Industry”; the forum was well attended.

The greeting remarks by Anne Pomsel and Johanna Schilling were followed by the salutations by Bernhard Kluttig, Director General for Industrial Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Also, the State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Kazuchika Iwata, has extended greetings via a video recording.

First discussant of the day was Prof. Dr. Hubertus Bardt, the Manager of the Institute of German Economy in Cologne, who was questioned regarding his ideas on the net zero (= removing as many emissions as produced) goal 2045/50. He points out that it is also an aim of industry to find respective solutions and that eyes might be turned to, e.g., Norway, that uses almost entirely renewable energies.

Second speaker was Stefan Knauf, Division Manager of Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. He pointed out that solutions are already worked on, e.g. the recycling of metal, which usually is relatively energy-consuming, but new methodologies are being developed.

The following speaker, Masaaki Sugimoto, Co-Founder of Elephantech, Inc., gave a glimpse into the possibility to ink-print PCBs (printed circuit boards) without the use of rare metals delivered by few countries only.

Last presenter of the afternoon was Yuaka Sata, Senior Vice President of Toshiba, who gave insights into new research on long-lived Niobium Titanium Oxide (NTO) batteries.

The last session of the day was a discussion round with Ingo Sawilla, Data security / Data co-ordinator from Trumpf Machine manufacturer, Kazuo Nakashima, General Manager of RRI (Robot Revolution & Industrial IOT (Internet of Things) Initiative) and Yutaka Sata of Toshiba. The gist of the discussion was that it is relevant to not only optimize single processes, but also to take others into account and that it might be more efficient to exchange old electric devices against newer, more energy-efficient ones. Information on a cooperation paper between Trumpf and Japan will be published on the Industrie 4.0 homepage.

28th East Asia Day and 30th anniversary of the IN-EAST Institute of the University of Duisburg-Essen

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: Lecture hall, university of Duisburg-Essen (courtesy of IN-EAST)

On the 7th of June 2024, the 28th Duisburg East Asia Day under the title “The Importance of the Asia-Pacific Region in the 21st Century” took place in Duisburg’s Tec Tower.

The Asia-Pacific region or – more broadly – the Indo-Pacific region is increasingly in focus as an arena of territorial conflicts, migration movements and close economic interactions. In addition to the changing economic, political and strategic importance of the region, the importance and future of East Asian studies were discussed in lectures and a panel discussion. After welcoming remarks by the director of the Institute Hannes Mosler and Deputy Director Marcus Taube, several lectures highlighted current research and relevant topics regarding East Asia.

E.g. Florian Coulmas and Aimi Muranaka of the University of Duisburg-Essen presented their upcoming book on a comparison on the perceived quality of life of immigrants to Germany and Japan, a very recent topic considering the dwindling population number and urgent need of specialists in certain working areas in Japan as well as immigrant waves to Germany that present challenges regarding integration policies.

In the panel discussion, the focus was on Sinology and Japanology as targets of study in Germany and how the interest can be kept on Chinese specialists when Chinese politics makes it continuously more difficult to reside in China. Negative views of the public prevent younger people to study Sinology. Korean studies have gained much more interest recently, and Japanology remained relatively stable. However, exchange with China will be needed to gain insights on the proceedings in the country.

At the University of Duisburg-Essen’s Institute of East Asian Studies, many scholars from various academic disciplines are engaged in both research and teaching on contemporary East Asia, focusing on the economies, politics and societies of China, Japan and Korea. Established in 1994, IN-EAST is one of Germany’s large centers of social science research on contemporary East Asia. IN-EAST runs Bachelors and Masters programs, each covering intensive training in one of the East Asian languages. Doctoral research is carried out by the doctoral programme on East Asian Futures: Visions and Realizations on National, Transregional and Global Scales of the Alliance for Research on East Asia Ruhr (AREA Ruhr), a joint research alliance of the IN-EAST (University of Duisburg-Essen) and the Faculty of East Asian Studies (Ruhr University Bochum) within the greater University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), funded by the Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR).

Further information about the event can be found on the website https://www.uni-due.de/in-east/events/east_asia_day/ead_28.php.
More info about IN-EAST can be found at https://www.uni-due.de/in-east/about_in-east/.

Summer Program Orientation 2024

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: Participants of the Summer Program Orientation in Bonn (courtesy of the JSPS Bonn Office)

On the 24th of April 2025, the Summer Program Orientation took place in the Gustav Stresemann Institute Bonn. Eighteen young scientists from all areas of research took part in the meeting. They presented their backgrounds and how they were motivated to apply for the Summer Program. Two former fellows of the Summer Program presented their views on the program, new member of the JSPS Club Dr. Sabine Tulka-Vollrath from Hochschule Bielefeld (self introduction in NvC 01/2024) and Dr. Martin Juckel from Research Center Jülich. The young researchers present were able to ask questions on life and work in Japan, on the cultural introduction and Japanese language course as well as the homestay in a Japanese family that is organized for all Summer Program participants. The JSPS Club was represented by board member Katja Koelkebeck. She presented Club activities and was able to mingle with the students, interacting and sharing experiences with the participants. The enthusiasm for the travel to Japan in the young colleagues was contagious and motivated her to travel to Japan sometime soon.

Tobitate Japan (Study abroad initiative of Japan)

by Heinrich Menkhaus, Chairman of the JSPS Club and Country Representative Japan

Photo: courtesy of MEXT

It came as a little surprise: the board of the JSPS Club was contacted immediately before the Braunschweig symposium this year by a representative of the MEXT scholarship program “Tobitate Japan”. It was said that some officials from Tobitate Japan would visit Berlin to take part in an art exhibition featuring art produced by former and current scholarship-holders of Tobitate Japan and would like to talk to us. As we were all supposed to be in Braunschweig at the time and the delegation would not be able to join our symposium, it was agreed that the head of our regional chapter Berlin-Brandenburg, Club member Roza Kamp, would organize a meeting with the delegation in Berlin. The delegation however did not show. Several weeks after the failed attempt in Berlin, I was asked for a meeting in Tokyo. The result was that I was invited to the 16th send-off of the newly selected students of the Tobitate program in the MEXT Ministry on July 21st.

I had heard about the program, which was set up in 2013 to increase the number of high school pupils and university students of the undergraduate and graduate level to experience some time out of Japan. That is why it is called tobitate. The actual English translation of the verb is “take off to fly”, but the official wording according to the HP of the ministry is “Leap for Tomorrow”. In the first phase of the program, which ran from 2013 to 2022, altogether about 9,500 young people were sent abroad. Currently, the second phase of the program, from 2023 to 2027, is running. Due to budgetary restrictions, the number of available scholarships was reduced. In the first stage of the program, 384 undergraduate and graduate students visited Germany, in the new stage already 34.

Send-offs occur on an irregular basis, but at least once a year. In the send-off, I was invited to an occasion where 267 undergraduate and graduate students received their fare-well party. The importance of the program to Japan was documented by the fact that the MEXT Minister, Masahito Moriyama, himself offered welcome remarks, admitting that as a pupil or student he never had the chance to go abroad, and that he only as a public servant on duty in the national government was sent for some years to the OECD headquarters in Paris with French as his second but not really workable language. He also pointed out that in Europe, people with a doctoral degree are taken more seriously and that Japan therefore should increase the number of PhDs.

The welcome remarks of the minister were followed by some addresses from high-ranking persons from Japanese enterprises, because the program is financed dually by the state and private enterprises. The first speaker was the chairman of NTT, Jun Sawada, having worked in the United States. He was followed by one of the founders of KDDI who clearly mentioned that his founding of KDDI would not have been possible, if he had not successfully finished a doctor’s course at the University of California at Berkeley. Finally, there were welcome remarks by two alumni of the program and a female and male participant of this time’s send-off.

In the second stage of the farewell party, the students were divided into regional groups according to their destinations, and I was surprised how many of them were supposed to go to Europe. At this point, I got the first chance to talk to some of them. But it was not only me who was talking to them. There were quite a number of representatives of co-financing enterprises even from Europe, e.g. the Banque Paribas, and alumni from previous send-offs.

In the third stage of the program, there were small groups created either by destinations or by topics. There were two groups for students with the destination Germany, one run by a representative of the Goethe Institute Tokyo, and the other one by me and Satoshi Odoi, present director of the secretariat of the MEXT minister and previously working as the science attaché in the Japanese Embassy in Berlin, where I got to know him. Here, the students got a chance to introduce themselves to each other, shortly talk about the topics they were interested in and ask questions about Germany. The second small group I attended was on education, assembling students whose aim is to later work in education.

I learned a lot during these sessions, e.g. that toothbrushes sold in Germany are too big for Japanese mouths and that it was recommended to carry a Japanese variety of them in the luggage. Another matter was recommendations as to where to make holidays in Germany, which was puzzling, because the students are supposed to study. I also learned that most of the students do not even go to universities, but to other organizations like non-profit organizations and that some of them in the short period of their stay abroad, only a few months, cover several destinations, even outside of Germany. Finally, next to very serious matters of studies, most of the mentioned points of interest were very fashionable fields, like the use and popularity of vegan food.

I was left with much more unanswered questions than I had before being contacted. I could not find out if Tobitate Japan is managed by Japan Student Services Association (JASSO) or MEXT itself, because some of the people in charge gave me name cards with the logo marks of the ministry and of JASSO. I learned that the students get 160,000 Yen a month, which, given the recent unfavorable exchange rate between the Japanese Yen and the EURO, is a small amount to live on in some of the big cities in Germany. I also could not find out how the payments are divided between the state of Japan and the group of private enterprises that are supporting the program. I was wondering about the scheme according to which the students were selected. Further, the question arose about how they would be able to communicate with their German counterparts, because I did not have a chance to check their language abilities. One female student from the University of Foreign Languages in Tokyo talked to me in German, but is going to Italy. I also wanted to know if the alumni of the program have better chances in the labor market in Japan after their return home, compared to students who do not go abroad at all and those who use other scholarships. Obviously, there are no statistics yet. I also would like to know how this new scholarship fits into the existing programs of MEXT, JF, JSPS, JASSO, Working Holiday, not to speak of the large variety of grant-making institutions in Japan. If the students go to universities, e.g. in the framework of bilateral university exchange partnerships, who is footing the university fees abroad, if there are any, and the university fees to be paid in Japan even in case of absence? Will the credits earned at foreign universities be recognized by the Japanese home universities, or will the time spent overseas be a lost period?

The Club has to get more acquainted with this program. As a first step, I invited all the students to the events of our Club during their stay in Germany, and I am looking forward to meet some of them again.

ACTIVITES OF MEMBERS

Board member of JSPS Club Saskia Schimmel coordinates new DFG Priority Programme

by Saskia Schimmel, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: S. Schimmel (left) with her PhD students Thomas Wostatek (middle) and Rajesh Chirala (right), presenting the group’s research topics at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Young Crystal Growers (courtesy of S. Schimmel)

Board member of the Club Dr. Saskia Schimmel, who leads an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) since 2023, has successfully initiated a DFG Priority Programme.

The scientist Dr. Saskia Schimmel

Within the Emmy Noether Programme, Saskia Schimmel and her group work on “Novel nitride materials for electronic devices”, with a focus on wideband gap nitride semiconductors and the fundamentals of their synthesis via the so-called ammonothermal method.

Nitride semiconductors are already integrated into certain devices, for example gallium nitride. This makes them considerably more efficient. It is thanks to nitride semiconductors that white LEDs have been able to replace traditional light bulbs in many households. In the area of power electronics, used amongst others in the electromobility sector, nitrides are increasingly replacing the materials that have been used as standard to date and are boosting the performance of the technology while making it more compact and energy efficient. In addition to this small group of relatively advanced materials, there are a number of other nitride semiconductors that are promising but have not yet been researched in detail.

Prior to her return to Germany, Saskia Schimmel has been a JSPS fellow at Nagoya University. At Nagoya University, she worked on the ammonothermal crystal growth of gallium nitride in the laboratory of Prof. Hiroshi Amano, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 for his contributions to the development of blue light emitting diodes using nitride semiconductors.

Saskia Schimmel has been focusing on nitride semiconductors for electronic devices since her doctorate, which she completed in 2018. In electronic devices, electronic properties are modified in specific areas in order to control the flow of charges. This is the case, for example, with diodes used in solar cells or displays, or also for transistors found in a wide range of different electronic devices, including computers. “Nitrides, in other words chemical compounds of nitrogen with one or more further elements, are very exciting as a material for applications in electronic components,” Schimmel explains. “As they cover a particularly wide spectrum of properties, they enable unique combinations of photonic, electronic, ferroelectric and electrical-optical material properties.” When semiconductor materials integrated in a device belong to the same material system, like nitrides in this case, it is easier to combine different properties.

The DFG Priority Programme Nitrides4Future

The DFG Priority Programme named “Nitrides4Future – Novel Materials and Device Concepts” builds on the discovery of enhanced piezo-electric properties of AlScN by Dr. Morito Akiyama and coworkers in 2009, the discovery of ferroelectric properties of AlScN by Dr. Simon Fichtner and coworkers in 2019, and the mentioned overall plethora of functional properties that nitride semiconductors offer within one class of materials. The new DFG priority program aims to conduct research into the properties of novel nitrides and develop optimal device architectures, that is, to design devices in a way tailored to exploiting the full potential of the individual materials. According to Schimmel, “the main focus is on improved and new properties of the materials and on how these properties can be used in novel device architectures. Traditional nitride semiconductor technologies offer the ideal basis for efficiently integrating the new functionalities into applications.” Saskia Schimmel will coordinate the priority program over a period of six years. The other members of the programme committee are Prof. Dr. Oliver Ambacher (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Christen (Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg), Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kroker (Technische Universität Braunschweig) and Prof. Dr. Bernd Witzigmann (FAU).

Within the Priority Programme, further collaborations with leading international scientists are also planned, including research groups in Japan.

More about Dr. Saskia Schimmel and her research:
https://www.fau.eu/2023/03/14/news/research/almost-2-million-euros-in-funding-for-emmy-noether-junior-research-group/
https://www.fau.eu/2024/04/24/news/research/early-career-researcher-at-fau-coordinating-new-dfg-priority-program/
(Part of the text has been taken from this press release by FAU.)

Further information:
Dr. Saskia Schimmel
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Chair of Electron Devices
saskia.schimmel@fau.de

REPORTS OF BRIDGE-FELLOWSHIPS

BRIDGE Report by Club Member Maximilian Hamm
(Freie Universität Berlin & Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt)

Photo: Participants of Cosmic Dust in front of the Kitakyushu castle. BRIDGE fellow Maximilian Hamm is in second row center with light blue T-shirt (courtesy of M. Hamm)

Returning to Chiba after 5 years

Thanks to the BRIDGE Fellowship, I had the opportunity to return to the Chiba Institute of Technology and JAXA’s ISAS institute for the first time after the COVID pandemic disrupted international travel. Since starting my PhD at the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research in 2016, I am part of the JAXA space mission Hayabusa2 that visited the Near-Earth Asteroid Ryugu in 2018, returned samples to Earth 2020 and currently continues as the extended mission Hayabusa2♯to two more asteroids. Hayabusa2 brought a small lander named MASCOT to Ryugu. MASCOT is a collaboration between Germany’s DLR and Technical University Braunschweig and France’s national research center for space science CNES. The lander MASCOT landed in 2018. While Hayabusa2 would orbit Ryugu and investigate the surface with remote sensing instruments, MASCOT would deliver close-ups and in-situ measurements bridging the gap between the remote-sensing and the analysis of returned samples.

Among the many surprising results of Hayabusa2 was the boulder-dominated and apparently dust-free surface of Ryugu. This observation was in contrast to the surface temperature variations observed by Hayabusa2 and MASCOT thermal infrared instruments and earlier observations infrared space telescope Spitzer. In fact, Ryugu heats up rapidly and to high temperatures when illuminated by sunlight and cools down drastically when shadowed, which is typical for finer particles such as sand. This observation could be explained by assuming that Ryugu’s boulders are very porous and in particular more porous than the most porous meteorites on Earth. Such result was confirmed by measuring the porosity of the returned samples.

Another puzzling observation was the lack of dust on the surface. Ryugu has no atmosphere and is constantly exposed to impact of particles, and space weather that constantly produces smaller particles and dust. Thermal modelling showed only very little dust can be coating the boulders confirming the impression from MASCOT close-up images. Some dust was also mobilized during the sample operations. The nature of dust formation, where these particles end up, and what this implies for contribution of small asteroids to interplanetary dust is subject of ongoing research.

During the Hayabusa2 mission, a close collaboration between the European and Japanese science teams developed. Besides the annual Hayabusa2 science team meeting in Sagamihara, I had the great opportunity to spend three months at the Planetary Research Exploration Center (PERC) Chiba Institute of Technology during the JSPS Summer Program 2017, which was a valuable experience and one of the most exciting times of my life. My BRIDGE research fellowship started with the arrival on 27th July 2023 and comprised of 8 days of research at PERC and followed by one week of attendance at the Cosmic Dust conference in Kitakyushu. It ended with the return to Germany on 12th August.

During the research stay at PERC, my host Hiroki Senshu and I worked on a numerical study of electrostatic forces charging of dust particles on asteroids by solar wind and UV light. Such a mechanism could explain the deficiency of dust on small asteroids like Ryugu. The development of this numerical model is still under development as part of a DFG project to which Senshu sensei is a collaborator. We also worked on a JSPS proposal for a short-term postdoctoral fellowship, which was recently granted and will commence December 2024 until March 2025. Here, we will study how small-scale structures in asteroid materials relate to their observable infrared signature. This study aims to reconcile thermal behavior observed for boulders on Ryugu and the samples Hayabusa2 returned, which seem to be more compact. I was also able to visit colleagues at the University of Tokyo (Prof. Seiji Sugita’s lab) and ISAS, JAXA (Dr. Tatsuaki Okada) to talk about my current research, ongoing projects like the Hera space mission where Okada sensei is involved with an infrared camera, and potential for future collaborations.

For the second part of the fellowship, I took the Shinkansen to Kitakyushu to attend the Cosmic Dust conference. Cosmic Dust was an extremely interesting conference where experts of interplanetary and interstellar dust discussed recent advances in the field. I could present a study of evidence of thin and discontinuous dust layers on Ryugu. The conference was accompanied by a great cultural program, such as an excursion to Kitakyushu Castle. The City of Kitakyushu kindly sponsored the Banquet.

In conclusion, this BRIDGE fellowship successfully strengthened the existing collaboration with my Japanese colleagues, in particular Senshu sensei from PERC, and spread the network into the cosmic dust community. This fellowship also led to a now-funded JSPS short-term postdoctoral fellowship at the end of this year, to which I am greatly looking forward to.

Thank you very much, JSPS and JSPS alumni Club, for your support.

Collaborative Efforts in Volcanic Research:
Highlights from my JSPS BRIDGE Fellowship at Sakurajima volcano

by Alex Poulidis, member of the JSPS Club

Figure 1:
(a) A sample of the daily in-house high-resolution SO2 forecast (issued 07.11.2023), shaded to illustrate the probability of measuring high SO2 values.
(b) Preliminary analysis of stationary and mobile DOAS observations on the same day, showing elevated values on the volcano's southern side, in agreement with the forecast.
(c) Photo of the mobile DOAS telescope and the volcano on the same day.

Figure 2:
(a) Photo outside the Sakurajima Volcano Research Center (SVRC), with M. Iguchi (host for the fellowship; left), myself (center) and S. Bittner (right).
(b) Photo of the Kitadake peak of Sakurajima from the Yunohira observatory on the last day of the observations (courtesy of A. Poulidis).

The word “volcano” tends to be connected with images of cataclysmic eruptions and wide-spread destruction. Due to their devastating potential, the scientific community tends to focus on the impacts of such eruptions, leaving a gap on the study of the less spectacular, but equally important non-explosive emissions from volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions in recent years, including the long-lasting eruption of Cumbre Vieja, La Palma (September-December 2021) and the fissure eruption at Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland (December 2023, currently ongoing), have put a spotlight on the severe impacts volcanic gas emissions can have on human activities and the environment.

My JSPS BRIDGE fellowship allowed me to return to Japan after almost three years in the University of Bremen (Germany) to carry out the Volcanic Emissions Observation and Modeling (VOLCOM) campaign – a pilot case study on the observation of near-constant “passive” volcanic emissions. Our target was Sakurajima volcano in Japan, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The fellowship gave me a chance to test: (a) an automated, adaptable forecasting suite designed by the Laboratory for Modeling and Observation of the Earth System (LAMOS) group in Bremen (Fig. 1a), and b) a temperature stabilization box that allows for high-quality mobile Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements (Fig. 1b, c). The campaign was carried out as an international collaboration between LAMOS (represented by myself and Mr. Simon Bittner, a LAMOS PhD student); Fig. 2, the Sakurajima Volcano Research Center (SVRC) of Kyoto University (Japan), University of Geneva (Switzerland), University of Clermont Auvergne (France) and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (Japan), allowing for a number of different synergistic measurements.

Over the course of the campaign, mobile DOAS observations were carried out over a total driving distance of ~1600 km, composed of 11 rounds around the volcano, 44 plume cross-sections at distances between 3-50 km from the vent, as well as four background measurement rounds 50 km upwind from the volcano and major cities. Although the campaign involved long-driving hours during the day (i.e. the only time we can take passive DOAS measurements), during the evenings we could relax and enjoy the excellent cuisine around Kagoshima as well as the numerous hot springs! In the end, a preliminary analysis of the results showed that the volcanic emission transport forecasting system was highly-accurate, with the forecasted probabilities correlating against observations with a Pearson’s coefficient up to 0.94.

Aside from the research targets, the fellowship also allowed me to expand my collaborator network in Japan, through the participation to an international workshop on tephra impacts organized by NIED and the Mount Fuji Research Institute (MFRI) and visits to the University of Chiba (Chiba) and the Uji campus of Kyoto University. One of the focal points of the visits was to establish links for future collaborations, initially based on utilizing an available German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Kyoto University program, as well as individual JSPS fellowships.

To conclude, I am very grateful to the JSPS Club that gave me the chance to carry out the visit and to Professor Masato Iguchi and the other members of the SVRC that welcomed us and supported us throughout an intense month of observations. Although I have been involved in field campaigns in the past, thanks to the JSPS BRIDGE fellowship I had the first chance to organize and lead a campaign, gaining invaluable experience to further develop my research and career, as well as material for a number of scientific publications that are currently in preparation. Finally, I am hoping that the links established from my visit will lead to fruitful collaborations, and I am looking forward to further cooperation between the universities in Japan and Germany.

Based in Tokyo, Dr. rer. nat. Gunnar Abelmann, has been for more than 20 straight years the Intelligence Manager of a world leading life science maker for plant health in Japan.

Chartered chemist Gunnar Abelmann has earnt his PhD in Science at the University of Münster with a thesis in Quantum Chemistry under the tutelage of Professor Dr. Martin Klessinger, while also being a scientific assistant in advanced organic chemistry.

Moreover, Gunnar Abelmann has gained a Master of Business Administration (MBA), from the International University of Japan (IUJ) in Niigata prefecture with a full scholarship from the Japanese Industry. IUJ is AASCB accredited and one of the highest ranked business schools in Japan as well as Far East Asia. During his two-year full-time studies, he focused on financial derivatives.

Gunnar Abelmann holds furthermore a 1A degree in proficient spoken and written business Japanese. He has overall engaged in learning ten foreign languages, including reaching an advanced level in Chinese.

Gunnar Abelmann current work as Intelligence Manager is to screen, prioritize, acquire and integrate all relevant data and information, including from real world research studies, analyze and translate those into superior insights to convincingly convey them to all stakeholders. Final objective is best in class decision-making on all levels in order to maximize the value and satisfaction of all customers and consumers while preserving a sustainable environment.

By joining the JSPS Club, Gunnar Abelmann hopes to meet scientists from other backgrounds and to broaden his perspectives.

Privately, Gunnar Abelmann has a keen interest in opera, chess and scientific fact finding.

Dr. Lorenz Granrath has more than 25 years professional experience in initiating and coordinating Technology Transfer from science to industry between Japan and Germany in renewable energy, materials, microelectronics, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other fields. He started building up the Fraunhofer Representative Office Japan from 2001 on, doing contract research with many big Japanese companies and starting a Fraunhofer Project Center for MEMS/NEMS Technology at Tohoku University in 2012. In 2014, he moved to AIST National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology initiating projects with German Institutes and the EU-Japan project e-VITA Virtual Coach for Smart Aging. In 2021, he coordinated this project as an Assistant Project Professor at Tohoku University for one year. He advised organizations, start-ups in scanning, 3D printing, H2 production and companies.

He studied Business, Engineering and Computer Science at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) until 1990 including four years assistant researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovations Research (ISI), was visiting researcher with a JDZB (Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin) scholarship at the University of Tokyo (1992-93) and finished his doctorate at Sankt Gallen University in Switzerland (Dr. oec.) in 1994.

He organized around 50 workshops, notably the German-Japanese Solar Day in 2010 supported by both side's Ministries. Lorenz Granrath is Member of the Science and Technology Diplomatic Circle, board member of the Heidelberg Club International Japan Chapter, Member of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (DIHKJ) and the Japan Society for Artificial Intelligence. He is very honoured to be member of JSPS Club to exchange with people that are engaged in science and technology.

Jan Kuhfeld is a physicist working in the field of plasma physics.

He studied for both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Ruhr-University Bochum in the laboratory of Prof. Uwe Czarnetzki. In the same laboratory, he performed his doctoral studies with a focus on laser diagnostics and finally obtained his PhD at the beginning of 2024.

Already throughout his time at the Ruhr-University, he attended several workshops with Japanese colleagues and conferences in Japan, during which he came into contact with many Japanese researchers interested in plasma physics.

Following his PhD, he was selected by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for a two-year JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship. From 2024 to 2026, he will stay in the laboratory of Prof. Koichi Sasaki at Hokkaido University, where he will set up optical diagnostic systems to investigate various molecular species relevant to atmospheric pressure plasmas.

Because many plasma-created species have a very short life cycle, the corresponding measurement systems need to detect changes on time scales of just a few nanoseconds (billionth of a second).

He is looking forward to exchanging experiences of research and life in Japan.