Japan (Tokyo Institute of Technology) Grant Recipients’ Progress Report And Roundtable Meeting Held For Yoshinori Ohsumi Fund For Fundamental Research

On September 13, 2022, Tokyo Institute of Technology held a Yoshinori Ohsumi Fund for Fundamental Research progress report and roundtable meeting at the Main Hall on Suzukakedai Campus. Past grant recipients, President Kazuya Masu, Honorary Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi, and Deans of Schools with which the recipients are affiliated all participated in the meeting as well as many others.

Yoshinori Ohsumi Fund for Fundamental Research, which is funded by the Yoshinori Ohsumi Fund, is designed to provide research funds for exceptionally talented young researchers engaged in fundamental research that requires a long-term perspective. Since the fund was established in 2018, 16 researchers have been selected as recipients in total, and 13 of them participated in this meeting.

At the progress report and roundtable meeting, after President Masu’s greeting, the 13 recipients made presentations for which Vice President for Research Development Kaoru Kuwata acted as host. In response to the presentations, deans and directors, as well as those acting as judges on the selection panel, gave feedback to the recipients such as: “I have realized that the development of cutting-edge research is brought about by the advancement of instruments;” “The question was very explicit and the presentation was easy to understand even for non-specialists;” and “I hope the recipients utilize opportunities like this meeting where researchers from different fields get together, become aware of each other’s research, and make use of that knowledge in both their own and in collaborative research.” Honorary Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi also offered words of praise, saying: “It is very encouraging to learn that each researcher has been steadily making progress over the last one to two years. I hope you continue to work on your research themes while being vividly aware of your passion for solving interesting questions. As science is among human activities, you should get a historical overview of things from time to time.” The roughly three-hour meeting then came to a close.