Endowed Research Division: Nanomaterial Process Data Science

Associate Professor Hashimoto's research team has published a paper on the creation of "materials maps" using AI in the international journal APL Machine Learning.

This research developed a materials map that integrates experimental and computational data using message-passing graph neural networks. The map visually represents structural similarities between materials and enables rapid extraction of unknown high-performance materials.

These findings are expected to significantly reduce new material development timelines and accelerate innovation in materials research.

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Tohoku University Press Release

At the invitation of TechShare Inc., Associate Professor Hashimoto delivered a lecture on laboratory automation using robotic arms.

The presentation covered practical examples of automated experimental systems developed in our laboratory and demonstrated low-cost automation methods that can be implemented in research settings.

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Our laboratory is developing an automated experimental system that combines an affordable robotic arm (approximately 200,000 yen) with electronic pipettes.

The first prototype features a high-throughput mixing system integrated with a conveyor belt for efficient sample processing.

We are currently developing a second prototype that combines an electronic balance with a magnetic stirrer.

As a proof of concept, we successfully demonstrated fully automated mixing of colored water with systematically varying ratios of red and blue.

We plan to apply this system to various chemical experiments in the future. Stay tuned for more updates!

We held a commemorative symposium for the establishment of the Endowed Research Division within the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences.

The symposium featured presentations on the founding principles of our research division and future research directions, fostering active discussions with numerous participants.

The importance of industry-academia collaboration in creating the new interdisciplinary field of Materials Process Data Science was reaffirmed.

The Tomai Laboratory is advancing experimental automation using robotic arms and other technologies.

A fourth-year student demonstrated the robot arm's capabilities by programming it to draw the Tohoku University logo. Through improved precision control technology, the system can now accurately draw complex figures.

Watch the video here