In fiscal 2023
research grants were provided for three projects on “manufacturing” themes and eleven projects on “fundamental research” themes, for a total of 14 grants from among 240 applications.
Manufacturing Theme
| Name | Affiliated institution Position (Affiliations, positions, and so forth are those at the time of receiving the grant award) |
Grant-Receiving Research Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Kenji Tajima | Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University | Creation of high-strength fiber materials that mimic the mechanism of cellulose fiber formation in living organisms |
| Yoshihiro Mihara | Lecturer, Hokkaido University of Science Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry | Learning from the flotation mechanism of Foraminifera to develop an easily collectable floating-up adsorbents for removal pollutants |
| Hiroshi Isoda | Professor, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere Kyoto University | Design and trial manufacture of a fine-tuned environmental prototype using the expansion and contraction characteristics of wood |
Fundamental Research Theme
| Name | Affiliated institution Position (Affiliations, positions, and so forth are those at the time of receiving the grant award) |
Grant-Receiving Research Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Kazutaka Akiyoshi | Assistant Professor, Nagoya University | Development of optical functional materials using semiconductor nanocrystals inspired by mineral structures |
| Jiro Arima | Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University | Closed-circulated land-based aquaculture and aquaponics that mimic mountain streams inspired by bacterial communities |
| Chang, Tso-Fu Mark | Associate Professor, Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Institute for Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology | Development of multifunctional heterogeneous catalytic materials learned from plant root systems |
| Mugihito OSHIRO | Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University | Building a foundation for designing a harmonious community of beneficial microbes inspired by traditional fermented-foods |
| Akira Yamaguchi | Tenure-tracking assistant professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology | Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction under hydrothermal condition inspired by the emergence of life in hydrothermal environment at deep sea floors |
| Kubo Wakana | Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology | Development of thermal control materials inspired by animal fur pattern |
| Jun Takaya | Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology | Polymer Degradation Enabled by Photoenergy/Metal Cooperative Catalysis |
| IGUCHI Yoshio | Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine | A remote activation strategy for mammalian neuronal populations employing insect chemosensory receptors |
| Yo Kobayashi | Associate professor, Department of Mechanical Science & Bioengineering, Graduate school of Engineering Science, Osaka University | Development and application of information processing methods learned from tactile perception in living organisms |
| Kazuki Tanifuji | Assistant Professor, International Research Center for Elements Science, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University | Bio-inspired Cluster Catalysts: Advancing Nitrogen Reduction beyond Enzymatic Conversion |
| Kaoru Matsuo | Assistant Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Agriculture | Green space conservation and development for "Sustainable cities and communities" considering climate change |