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FY2025 Suematsu Award “Fundamentals and Developments of Innovative Value Creation” and Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award

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December 16, 2025

The FY 2025 Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award went to nine researchers, three of whom further received the Suematsu Challenging Research Award. The joint award ceremony was held on September 4.

Commemorative photo of the ceremony

Honorary Professor Suematsu giving a congratulatory address

Award-winner receiving certificate

Award-winning Assistant Prof. Mizuki NAGATA

Executive Vice President for Research and Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration HATANO

Suematsu Award “Fundamentals and Developments of Innovative Value Creation”

The Suematsu Award for "Fundamentals and Developments of Innovative Value Creation" was established to foster young researchers pursuing work that leads to innovative value creation in various fields of science and technology, including the humanities and social sciences. The award aims to provide a wide range of support for foundational research that underpins the creation of innovative value.

This award is the successor to the Suematsu Award for "Fundamentals and Development of Digital Technology," which was established by the Suematsu Fund in 2018. Starting in FY 2025, we have expanded the scope of support to include the medical and dental fields.

Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award

The award was established to encourage young faculty members at the Institute to engage in challenging and original research. It recognizes creative, up-and-coming researchers who boldly pursue the promotion of the most advanced research in the world, pioneering new fields of study, innovative development of new research, and taking on important issues that are difficult to solve. Recipients are granted research funding to support their work. Eligible candidates include associate professors, lecturers, and assistant professors under the age of 40. Many past awardees have subsequently received the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

This award, originally presented since 2002 as the “Tokyo Tech Challenging Research Award,” changed its name to the “Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award” following the integration. Beginning in FY 2025, its scope of support has been expanded to include the medical and dental sciences.

The Suematsu Challenging Research Award is presented to particularly outstanding recipients of the Challenging Research Award. This award is made possible by the Suematsu Fund, which was established based on the desire of former President and Honorary Professor Yasuharu Suematsu to support young researchers. The Fund mainly supports young researchers, encouraging their research activities to predict and study the development of unexplored scientific and technological systems in diverse fields and to realize hidden futures within society.

Suematsu Fund

Former Tokyo Tech President and Honorary Professor Yasuharu Suematsu was awarded the Japan Prize in 2014 and the Order of Culture in 2015 for his contributions to society through the development of high-capacity, long-distance optical fiber communications. These achievements stemmed from his groundbreaking research at the Institute, particularly on dynamic single-mode lasers.

In recognition of his achievements and dedication to supporting young researchers, the former Tokyo Institute of Technology established the Suematsu Fund using donations from the Japan Prize. The Fund was created to carry forward Honorary Professor Suematsu's commitment to promote and support young researchers and their research activities.

Additional contributions to the Fund have been made by the Founder and Chairman of Gurunavi Inc., Hisao Taki, and Professor Emeritus Fumio Koyama, both of whom share its mission. The Fund provides broad support for young researchers across disciplines, including science and engineering as well as medicine and dentistry.

Award Winners

FY2025 Suematsu Award “Fundamentals and Developments of Innovative Value Creation”

Yuki Hashimoto
Assistant Professor,Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Major in Mechanical Engineering,School of Engineering

Research Topic: Fundamental Study on Active Sweat Control Technology for Expanding Human Thermoregulation Capacity

Mizuki Nagata
Assistant Professor,Dept. of Periodontology,Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences

Research Topic:　Identification of the mechanism in periodontal regeneration using an integrative singlecell　analysis

Bo Zhu
Assistant Professor,Dept. of Life Science and Technology,Institute of Integrated Research

Research Topic: Development of stable trillion-level biomolecular display system for in vivo ultra-high-throughput screening applications

FY2025　 Science Tokyo Challenging Research Award

Daiki Nishiguchi
Associate Professor,Department of Physics,School of Science

Research Topic: Active matter medical engineering via the topology of collective cell migration

Taishi Noma
Assistant Professor,Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,School of Engineering

Research Topic: Development of orbital devices using biomolecules

Wan Ting Chiu
Associate Professor,Department of Materials Science and Engineering,School of Materials and Chemical Technology

Research Topic: Establishment of fundamental principles and development of novel technologies for the development and recycling of complex composites

Takuto Soma
Assistant Professor,Department of Chemical Science and Engineering,School of Materials and Chemical Technology

Research Topic:：High-throughput exploration of multinary nitride materials

Takumi Ohashi
Associate Professor, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering,School of Environment and Society

Research Topic:A Competency Model and Training Program for Socio-technical Transition Designers

Daisu Abe
Assistant Professor,Department of Neurosurgery,Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences

Research Topic: Development of machine learning models for severity stratification and deterioration monitoring in patients with traumatic brain injury

Kyohei Hisano
Assistant Professor,Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science,Institute of Integrated Research

Research Topic: Design of Mesoscopic Order and Functionalization of Polymers Based on Polymerization Space Dynamics

Kenta Iitani
Junior Associate Professor, Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering,Institute of Integrated Research

Research Topic: Development of noninvasive real-time biosensors for predictive health

Kensuke Miyake
Associate Professor, Institute of Integrated Research

Research Topic: Elucidation of human basophils in atopic dermatitis

Related articles

Contact

Research Planning Division

Research Promotion Department

Email awards.rpd@adm.isct.ac.jp

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