AY2024 TAC-MI 6th International Forum
The Academy for Convergence of Materials and Informatics (TAC-MI) held its 6th International Forum at Oiso Prince Hotel in Kanagawa Prefecture from December 16 to 18, 2024.
TAC-MI holds the International Forum once a year with the aim of improving international communication skills through English presentations to a diverse audience of students, academics, and industry players. This year, 42 TAC-MI students participated in this forum, and presented their research achievements to the audience in English. Seven overseas doctoral students supervised by TAC-MI’s international advisors were also present throughout. In total, approximately 130 participants including industrial collaborators, TAC-MI program staff members, and TAC-MI students joined the forum. This event was held in hybrid format for both in-person and online participants.
Current research presentations by TAC-MI’s 1st-year doctoral students
On December 16 and December 17, a total of twenty five 1st-year doctoral students gave presentations under the guidance of TAC-MI’s 2nd-year doctoral students who chaired the session. Each 15-minute presentation was followed by a 5-minute Q&A session in English. These research presentations were also part of the TAC-MI Qualifying Examination, a critical checkpoint in the TAC-MI curriculum. Participating students confidently presented the significance and achievements of their research and, after the presentations, actively engaged in Q&A sessions with the audience.
Presentations by TAC-MI’s 2nd-year doctoral students and overseas doctoral students
In the afternoon on December 17 and in the morning on December 18, twelve 2nd-year doctoral students and seven overseas doctoral students gave presentations on their research. Each 7-minute presentation was followed by a 4-minute Q&A session. TAC-MI’s 2nd-year doctoral students provided presentations about the progress of their TAC-MI Self-Designed Theses. For the Self-Designed Thesis, students choose a topic different from that of their dissertation and conduct research on their own initiative. They present their research findings upon completion of their doctoral degree program to faculty members at TAC-MI who review the presentations. Through this process, students acquire the ability to conduct unique research independently based on new ideas supported by knowledge of materials science and information science, transcending their individual specializations. TAC-MI students present their research progress at either an event in June or the International Forum in December during the second year of their doctoral program.
Lectures by overseas advisors
In the morning on December 17 and December 18, world-leading researchers who cooperate with TAC-MI provided lectures and introduced some of their recent research findings.
| Speaker | Lecture title |
|---|---|
| Associate Professor LIU Wei Beijing Normal University, China | Empathy-Driven Interaction Design |
| Associate Professor Natt Leelawat Chulalongkorn University, Thailand | What is Project Risk Management? |
| Professor M.Michael Gromiha Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India | Integrating computational approaches and experimental data for understanding the binding affinity of protein-nucleic acid complexes |
| Professor Xu-Ming Xie Tsinghua University, China | Highly Conductive and Tough Elastomers cross-linked by functionalized Carbon Nanotubes for wearable electronic devices |
| Professor Sergei Kazarian Imperial College London, UK | New Insight from FTIR Spectroscopic Imaging |
| Professor Peter Grutter McGill University, Canada | Spatially resolved trap states and random telegraph noise in semiconductors |
| Professor Michael Thompson Cornell University, USA | Understanding thin film phase transformations on millisecond timescales: Linking autonomous exploration with high throughput automation |
Awards ceremony
At the awards ceremony on December 18, Best Presentation Awards were awarded to the most highly evaluated 1st-year doctoral students of TAC-MI and participating overseas students by audience. Good Presentation Awards were awarded to runner-up.
TAC-MI’s award winners
| Best Presentation Award | Shion Hasegawa（Materials Science and Engineering） |
| Good Presentation Award | Yu Jiayi（Materials Science and Engineering） Kyosuke Imai（Materials Science and Engineering） |
Overseas award winners
| Best Presentation Award | Céline van Haaren（Imperial College London, UK） |
| Good Presentation Award | Ekaterina Ulyanov（McGill University, Canada） |
Deepening exchanges with companies and overseas counterparts
During the International Forum, TAC-MI doctoral students conducted interviews with and received advice from their industrial mentors. TAC-MI students have the advantage of evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in face-to-face meetings with researchers, developers, technical experts, product planners, and marketing professionals from various industries. One industrial mentor is assigned to each student. Throughout the duration of this program, each student has an industrial mentor who continuously guides the student from enrollment to program completion.
Moreover, seven overseas advisors participating in this international forum met with TAC-MI students, offering advice and encouragement regarding the students’ research presentations. The three-day event not only offered students the opportunity to deepen exchanges through discussion of presentation and shared free time, but also opened up new perspectives to Science Tokyo faculty members, overseas advisors, and industrial collaborators.
