JST A-STEP industry-university collaboration FY2021 themes decided: expectations for contributions to the post-COVID-19 community

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST: President Michinari Hamaguchi) announced on September 8th that it has decided on 18 topics to be adopted for the FY2021 recruitment of A-STEP (Adaptable & Seamless Technology Transfer Program through Target-driven R&D) industry-university collaboration (full-scale). It aims to support R&D projects that are expected to contribute to social change during/post COVID-19. The following are the names of the adopted projects, joint research companies, and joint researchers.

Field 1 (ICT and electronic devices): 5 themes

● "Developing High Performance Gas Sensors for Breathing Equipment" :
Chest M.I Inc. Michio Niwano (Specially Appointed Professor, Kansei Welfare Research Institute, Tohoku Fukushi University)

● "Rapid and Highly Functional Ultra-Small Satellite Communication through K_a-Band Beam Forming Technologies" :
Axelspace Corp. Kenichi Okada (Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology)

● "Outdoor Remote Smart Scan Solid State LiDAR Camera Development" :
Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. Shoji Kawahito (Professor, Division of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Shizuoka University)

● "Smart High Speed Camera System for Remote Vibration Tests"
Photron Ltd. Idaku Ishii (Professor, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University)

● "Development of a Japanese-Style Wake Model that Contributes to the Optimal Design of Profitability and Durability for Offshore Wind Power Generation and Accuracy Verification Using Large-Scale Commercial Windmills"
Japan Renewable Energy Corp. Takanori Uchida (Associate Professor, Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University)

Field 2 (Manufacturing): 4 themes

● "Higher Accuracy and Automation of Building Exterior Wall Tile Diagnostics Using Parallel Wire Mechanisms"
Kajima Corporation. Yusuke Sugawara (Associate Professor, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology)

● "Developing a 100% Coating Efficiency Head for Vehicle Body Painting"
Kishu Giken Kogyo Co., Ltd. Yoshiyuki Tagawa (Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)

● "Developing a Deep Ultraviolet Objective Lens with High-Quality Complex Fluoride"
Oxide Corporation Toshihiko Shimizu (Associate Professor, Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University)

● "Development of AI Control of Flat-Square Copper Wire and High Quality Laser Welding Equipment to Enable Mass Production of Stators for EV Engines"
Tamari Industry Co., Ltd. Hiroshi Ikenoue (Professor, Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University)

Field 3 (Functional Materials): 4 themes

● "Demonstration of Applicability to Seismic Reinforcement Structure and Development of Super-Elastic Alloyed Single Crystal Materials for Maintaining the Function of Buildings after a Large Earthquake"
Furukawa Techno Material Toshiro Omori (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)

● "Innovative Rubber Materials Contributing to the 100% Natural Derivation of Rubber"
Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Shota Ando (Specially Appointed Professor, School of Frontier Science, the University of Tokyo)

● "Development of a Recycle Photoreactor"
YMC Co., Ltd. Hideyo Takahashi (Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science)

● "Development of a new modified cellulose for the realization of a biomass product tree"
Daicel Corporation, Kentaro Taki (Professor, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University)

Field 4 (Agriculture and Biology): 5 themes

● "Research and Development on Inactivation of Air-Borne Substances such as Viruses through Plasma Micro Mist"
Nalux Co., Ltd. Toshiro Kaneko (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University)

● "Developing Bioplastic Production Technologies for an 'Environmental Wooden City'"
Sumitomo Forestry Shun Sato (Senior Researcher, Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology)

● "Creating a Next Generation Silk Industry Based on the Functionality of Silk Fibroins and Silkworm Pula"
United Silk Co. Ltd., Yasumoto Nakazawa (Professor, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)

● "Developing Precise Separation Technologies Based on Sugar Chains for Sugar Chain Recognition"
Shinwa Chemical Industries Ltd. Takuya Kubo (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)

● "Practical Research on Chelated Steel Fertilizer that Can Resolve High-Activity Components"
Aichi Steel Corp. Kosuke Namba (Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima University)

The A-STEP program supports the practical application of economically important science and technology created by universities and other research institutes. The "full-scale" section of the program supports industry-academia joint research related to verification, such as practical application of each project's findings.