Introduction

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This report summarizes the research carried out at RIEC during the 2012 fiscal year.
The RIEC was established in 1935 to research cutting-edge technologies such as
Yagi-Uda antennas and magnetrons. Since then, it has made a succession of pioneeringachievements in laying the foundations of information communication technology, andhas continued to play a world-leading role. To build on this tradition, we are gearing ourresearch towards the development and evolution of science and technology that willallow communications to be implemented in a way that enriches people's lives.
Since 2004, as a framework for this purpose, we have organized ourselves into four
Research Divisions (Information Devices, Broadband Engineering, Human Iinformation
Systems and Systems & Software), two Laboratories (Laboratory for Nanoelectronics
and Spintronics and Laboratory for Brainware Systems), and one Research Center(Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology). Each entity has in mind theperiod of research to reach major outcome (Research Divisions: 20 years, Laboratories:
10 years, Research Center: 5 years). We have adopted a system of working in close
cooperation with Tohoku University's graduate schools related to electrical engineering(School of Engineering, Graduate School of Information Sciences and Graduate Schoolof Biomedical Engineering) in order to cover a wide range of cutting-edge research
fields and foster the development of highly educated researchers and engineers.
In 2010, the RIEC was certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology (MEXT) as a Joint Usage/Research Center for collaborative research ininformation science and technology. To contribute to further community development,
we are working on joint research projects with external researchers and engineers fromindustry, government and academia.
Today, information science and technology is an essential part of the social
infrastructure, and there are growing demands for the implementation of faster,




higher-capacity telecommunications with greater energy savings. Another key attributeof the social infrastructure is disaster tolerance; a requirement that was demonstrated
only too well by the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We also expect
to contribute to a new paradigm of information processing and communication thatbridge people in a fundamentally different way.
At the RIEC, we will continue to address these social needs by taking full advantage of
our status as a university-affiliated research center. In this way, we hope to play aleading role in the new world of information science and technology, and thereby
promote education in the future. We welcome your frank opinions regarding ourresearch activities, and I sincerely hope we can continue to rely on your guidance andsupport in the future.

May 1, 2013
Director, Research Institute of Electrical Communication

Hideo Ohno 
2. Organization䇭Chart
Director

Advisory Council

Information Devices Division

Deputy Director
Research Divisions

Nano-Photoelectronics
Quantum-Optical Information Technology
Solid State Electronics
Dielectric Nano-Devices
Materials Functionality Design
Magnetic Devices

FacultyCouncilBroadband Engineering Division

Human Information Systems Division

Systems & Software Division

Sponsored Division
Research Facilities

Software Construction
Computing Information Theory
Communication Network Systems
Information Contents
Information Social Structure
Environmental-Adaptive Information
and Communication Engineering
Nano-Integration Devices and Processing
Semiconductor Spintronics
Nano-Molecular Devices
Nano-Spin Memory

Laboratory for Brainware Systems

Real-World ComputingIntelligent Nano-Integration System
New Paradigm VLSI System

Research Center for21st Century Information Technology

Project Planning Division
Technology Development Division:‫ ޓޓޓޓޓ‬Mobile Wireless Technology Group
Storage Technology GroupIntelligence Archive Group

Flexible Information System
Research Center
Fundamental Technology Center

Administration
OfficeElectromagnetic Bioinformation Engineering
Advanced Acoustic Information Systems
Visual Cognition and Systems
Ubiquitous Communications System
Multimodal Computing

Laboratory for
Nanoelectronics and Spintronics

Management Office for Safety and HealthCommon Research
Facilities

Ultrahigh-Speed Optical Communication
Applied Quantum Optics
Advanced Wireless Information Technology
Information Storage Systems
Ultra-Broadband Signal Processing
Basic Technology for Broadband Communication

Machine Shop Division
Evaluation Division
Process Division
Information Technology Division
General Affairs Section
Cooperative Research Section
Library Section
Accounting Section
Purchasing Section  

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Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
The Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics of the Research Institute ofElectrical Communication was established on April of 2004. Its purpose is todevelop and establish the science and technology of nanoelectronics andspintronics for information technology. Utilizing the facilities installed in the
Nanoelectronics-and-Spintronics building and under collaboration between the
RIEC and electro-related laboratories of the Graduate Schools of Engineering,
Information Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, R&D of
nanotechnologies of materials and devices in Nanoelectronics and Spintronics will
be continued extensively. Furthermore, nation-wide and world-wide collaboration
research projects will be conducted to build a systematic database in the electricalcommunication research area.
The Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics mainly consists of researchgroups which promote following sections: Nano-Integration Devices and Processing,
Semiconductor Spintronics and Nano-Molecular Devices; together with the groups
of Intelligent Nano-Integration System, Quantum-Optical Information Technology,
and Ultra-Broadband Signal Processing. These groups cooperatively carry out the
research aimed at establishing a world-wide COE in the research area of
nanoelectronics and spintronics.

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       㩷 Highlights of Research Activities in 2012
Nano Integration
٨Nano-Integration Devices and Processing (S. Sato and M. Sakuraba)
(1) Digital neural network circuit using stochastic logic has been designed andimplemented on an FPGA for its application to combinatorial optimization problems. We
calculate synaptic weights dynamically and do not store such weights to save memory
usage, and confirm such technique works successfully. Moreover, we have analyzed
quantum properties of superconducting qubits proposed so far in order to implement a
qubit or a quantum neuron. Research direction for device design including quantum state
control and biasing has been obtained for multi-bit implementation.
(2) Epitaxial growth using low-energy ECR plasma CVD without substrate heating has
been studied. It is found that Ge fraction in Si1-xGex alloy films on Si(100) can becontrolled widely by change of reactant gas flow ratio of SiH4 and GeH4. Moreover,epitaxial growth of B-doped Si films with extremely high B concentration has beenenabled, and carrier concentration higher than 1018 cm-3 can be obtained by
low-temperature heat treatment at 200-300oC after deposition. Additionally, epitaxial
growth of B-doped Ge films with higher B concentration than 5% has been enabled on
Si(100).

٨Intelligent Nano-Integration System (K. Nakajima) (1) By using high-order synapses for an inverse function delayed neural network, wetheoretically obtained the parameter values that presented optimal solutions only for
traveling salesman and quadratic assignment problems. Furthermore, we proposed a
generalized energy function for scheduling problems and an inverse function delay-lessmodel for high speed numerical calculation of artificial neural networks. (2) We also
proposed new analyses based on the relationship among a potential and active regions fornonlinear dynamics, in which bursting oscillations were analyzed and designed. (3) We
studied a possibility of superconducting plural bits realization in the quantum bits
computation algorithm. We demonstrated successfully a 4-bit parallel multiplier using acarry look-ahead adder with niobium integrated circuits to improve the performance ofhigh-speed operation for the single flux-quantum fast Fourier transform and designed an
8-bit parallel multiplier. A neural network using superconducting quantum interference
devices was fabricated and successfully demonstrated.






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       enhancement of surface plasmon polaritons in THz range in population-inverted
graphene, monolayer of carbon atomic honeycomb crystal, by whose extraordinary carriertransport properties we proposed a novel THz lasers and experimentally verified
stimulatedTHzemissionatroom

temperature.

Second,wedevisednovel

plasmon-resonant THz emitter/detector devices, succeeding in world-first coherent
monochromatic THz plasmonic lasing and breaking the record sensitivity to 6.4 kV/W at
1.5-THz radiation.

٨Quantum-Optical Information Technology (K. Edamatsu, H. Kosaka and Y.
Mitsumori) 
1. We are developing novel and efficient entangled-photon sources. We havedemonstrated (1) generation and activation of four-photon bound entanglement, (2)quantum multi-photon interference in telecom wavelength, and (3) efficient photon pairgeneration from silicon wire waveguides.
2. We are developing a quantum media converter from a photon to an electron spin torealize a quantum repeater, which is expected to extend the transmission distance ofquantum info-communication. We have demonstrated that (1) the process of statetransfer is quantum like by the measurement of electron spin state tomography, and (2)fundamental experiments for the photonic state transfer to a quantum memory indiamond.
3. We have investigated the excitonic Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots
using photon echo spectroscopy for the development of the optical coherent control of theelectric states in the quantum dots. We have observed the interesting behavior of the
Rabi oscillations arising from the local field effect in the quantum dots.

Nano-Molecular Devices
٨Nano-Molecular Devices (M. Niwano and Y. Kimura) 
1. Elucidation of anodization process of titanium
The anodization process of Ti is a useful method to form vertically oriented TiO2
nanotube films and an ammonium fluoride (NH4F) containing organic solution is used as
an electrolyte. The formation process and the structure of anodic TiO2 nanotubes depend
strongly on component of electrolyte. We investigated influence of concentrations of NH4F
and water in the organic electrolyte on the growth rate of TiO2 nanotube films. We foundthat a ratio of the concentration of NH4F to that of water plays an important role in theanodization process of Ti. This indicates that the structure of anodic TiO2 nanotubes canbe controlled by an electrolyte. (published in JES)
2. Fabrication of micro TiO2 gas sensors through local anodization

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       
We demonstrated fabrication of a micro gas sensor of 2×2 µm2 through local anodization
which is a hybrid process between the photolithography technique and the anodization
process. The sensitivity and the linearity were improved by thinning walls of anodic TiO2
nanotubes. This indicates that the local anodization is a suitable method forminiaturization of gas sensors and reduction in power consumption and development of asimultaneous multi-component gas sensing system are expected. (published in Sens. andActuators B)
3. Reconstitution of hERG channels in microfabricated Si chips
We have succeeded in reconstitution of human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG)
channels in stable bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) formed in micropores fabricated in Si
chips. Characteristic features of hERG channels, including single-channel conductanceand sensitivity to typical drugs, were observed, demonstrating intact incorporation ofhERG in the Si chips. The hERG channel has been drawing a lot of pharmacologicalattention because it has been found to cause serious arrhythmic side effects. The next
step is to extend the hERG-containing stable BLM device to a multi-site array format.
The realization of a hERG-channel array will open a variety of applications, including
high-throughput drug safety screening procedures. (published in Anal. Chem.)

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Nano-Molecular Devices

Control of surface and interface of molecular informational devices anddevelopment of novel nano-molecular devices
Nano-Molecular Devices: Michio Niwano, Professor
Nano-Electron Devices: Yasuo Kimura, Associate Professor
[Research Target and Activities]
Our research aims at application of semiconductor micro/nano-fabrication to semiconductor
devices or many kinds of biosensors. We have investigated development of 1) a biomolecular sensing
system using Si fabrication technologies and 2) a nanofabrication method using electrochemical
processes such as anodization of valve metals.
1) Elucidation of anodization process of titanium
We investigated influence of concentrations of NH4F andwater in the organic electrolyte on the growth rate of TiO2
nanotube films and demonstrated that the structure of anodic
TiO2 nanotubes were controlled by the electrolyte composition.
2) Fabrication of micro TiO2 gas sensors through local anodization
We demonstrated fabrication of micro gas sensors of 2×2 µm2through local anodization which is a hybrid process between the Experimental system for in situ
photolithography technique and the anodization process. The monitoring of cell activity by surface
infrared spectroscopy
sensitivity and the linearity were improved by thinning walls of
anodic TiO2 nanotubes.
3) Reconstitution of hERG channels in microfabricated Si chips
We have succeeded in reconstitution of humanether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) channels in stable bilayer lipid
membranes (BLMs) formed in micropores fabricated in Si chips.
CharacteristicfeaturesofhERG
channels,
includingsingle-channel conductance and sensitivity to typical drugs, wereobserved, demonstrating intact incorporation of hERG in the Si
chips.
Local anodization and the structure of[Staff]a micro TiO2 nanotube hydrogen
Professor: Michio Niwano,Dr.
sensor
Associate Professor: Yasuo Kimura,Dr.
Assistant Professor: Yuki Aonuma,Dr.
[Profile]
Michio Niwano 1998 – present RIEC, Tohoku University, Japan, Professor, Doctorate of Science
Memberships: The Electrochemical Society (ECS), The Material Research Society (MRS), American
Vacuum Society (AVS), The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP)
Yasuo Kimura2010 – present RIEC, Tohoku University, Japan, Associate Professor, Ph. D. Eng.
Memberships: The Electrochemical Society (ECS), The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP), The
Surface Science Society of Japan[Papers][1] Ryota Kojima, Yasuo Kimura, Mitsuo Bitoh, Munemitsu Abe, Michio Niwano, “Investigation of
Influence of Electrolyte Composition on Formation of Anodic Titanium Oxide Nanotube Films”, J.
Electrochem. Soc. 159 (11), (2012) D629-D636.
[2] Yasuo Kimura, Shota Kimura, Ryota Kojima, Mitsuo Bitoh, Munemitsu Abe, and Michio Niwano,“Micro-scaled hydrogen gas sensors with patterned anodic titanium oxide nanotube film”, Sens.
Actuators B 177 (2013) 1156-1160[3] A. Oshima, Ayumi Hirano-Iwata, Hideki Mozumi, Yutaka Ishinari, Yasuo Kimura, and Michio Niwano,“Reconstitution of Human Ether-a-go-go-Related Gene Channels in Microfabricated Silicon Chips”,
Anal. Chem. 85 (2013) 4363-4369.

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7. International Activities
Many of the staff in RIEC contribute to the development of technology and science inthe world by serving as editors of referees of international journals or by chairing or
programming international conferences. In some fields in electronics, electricalcommunications, or information engineering RIEC serves as a Center of Excellence(COE), which attracts many visiting researchers and students from all over the world
every year. Several academic exchange programs with foreign colleges or institutes arein operation.
International academic exchange programs:


















The Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
The Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorm University (Thailand)
Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
The James Frank Institute, The University of Chicago (U.S.A.)
Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London (U.K.)
Scientific Research Department, Shenzhen University (China)
Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Sung-Kyun-Kwan University (Korea)
Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Applied Physics, University of Twente (Netherlands)
The Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia)
Department of Electronics Science and Engineering, University of Nanjing (China)
School of Computer and Communication Engineering, Taegu University (Korea)
The Interdisciplinary Center on Nanoscience of Marseille, National Center of Scientific Research (France)
IHP-Innovations for High Performance microelectronics (Germany)
Institute of Semiconductors Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)
WINLAB, Rutgers University (U.S.A.)
University of Vigo (Spain)
State University of New Nork (U.S.A)

International journals in which a staff in RIEC participates as an editor:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Advanced Robotics
Applied Acoustics
Higher-order and symbolic computation
IEICE Electronics Express
IEICE Transaction On Electronics
Interdisciplinary Information Science
International Journal of Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, and Complex
Problem Solving Technologies
International Journal of Energy, Information and Communications
International Journal of Information Sciences and Computer Engineering (IJISCE)
International Journal of Wireless Information Networks
Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing
Journal of Magnetics, Korean Magnetics Society
Journal of SPIN
JSAP-MRS Joint Symposia 2013 JJAP Special Issues
Nature Communications 
16
17
18
19
20
21

Neural Networks
Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications, IEICENPG Asia Materials
Optical Fiber Technology
Optics Communications
Proceedings Special Issue on Emerging Graphene-Based Electronic and Photonic
Devices, Circuits and Systems
22 The Journal of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds
Recent international conferences programmed by a staff in RIEC:
1 2012 Spintronics Workshop on LSI
2 2013 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics(CLEO2013)
3 2014 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC2014)
4 2014 Topical meeting on Microwave Photonics Conference (MWP2014)
5 3DUI: IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces
6 3rd CSIS International Symposium on Spintronics-based VLSIs and 11th RIECInternational Workshop on Spintronics
7 4th International Workshop on Spin Caloritronics
8 5th Int. Symp. of SiGe & Ge: Materials, Processing, and Device Symp.
9 5th International Conference on Recent Progress in Graphene Research(RPGR2013)
10 6th Int. Workshop on New Group ΦSemiconductor Nanoelectronics
11 7th International Conference on the Physics and Applications of Spin Related
Phenomena in Semiconductors (PASPS-VII)
12 7th Terahertz Days/GDR-I Workshop
13 8th Int. Conf. on Silicon Epitaxy and Heterostructures
14 17th International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE2012)15 26th International Microprocesses and Nanotechnology Conference(MNC2013)16 ACM SIGGRAPH Asia
17 ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2013: The 6th SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on
Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia 201318 ACSIN: 12th International Conference on Atomically Controlled Surfaces, Interfaces
and Nanostructures
19 APCHI 2012: 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Computer Human Interaction
20 APMC: Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
21 Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision (APCV) 2012
22 Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision (APCV) 2014
23 AWAD: Asia-Pacific Workshop on Fundamentals and Applications of Advanced
Semiconductor Devices
24 CIMTEC2014: 13th International Ceramics Congress, 6th Forum on New Materials,
and 5th International Conference Novel Functional Carbon Nanomaterials
25 EDISON: 18th International Conference on Electron Dynamics in Semiconductors,
Optoelectronics and Nanostructures
26 EGVE: Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environment
27 ESSDERC: European Solid-State Device Research Conference
28 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC)
29 GSMM(Global Symposium on Millimeter wave) 2013
30 GSMM: 6th Global Symposium on Milli-Meter Waves
31 Haskell Symposium
32 ICAT 2013: International Conference on Artificial Reality and Tele-existence 
33 ICAT: International Conference on Artificial Reality and Tele-existence
34 ICOOPMA: International Conference on Optical, Optoelectronic and Photonic
Materials and Applications
35 IEDM: International Electron Device Meeting
36 IEEE International Symposium on Asynchronous Circuits and Systems
37 IEEE International Symposium on Multiple-Valued Logic
38 IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) TC-13 (Human-Computer
Interaction)
39 International Colour Vision Society (ICVS) 2015
40 International Conference of Magnetism (ICM)
41 International Multisensory Research Forum㧔IMRF㧕2013
42 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC), Program Subcommittee
Member for Quantum Information
43 International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications
44 ISCS: International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors
45 MMM/Intermag 2013, Chicago
46 OTST: Int. Conf. on Optical Terahertz Science and Technology
47 PIMRC (Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications) Symposium
48 SPIE International Conference on Defense, Security, and Sensing
49 SPIE Photonics West, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices, Program
Committee Member
50 The 10th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Internet
Technologies (ICDCIT-2014)
51 The 16th International Conference on Network-Based Information Systems(NBiS-2013)
52 The 1st IEEE International Workshop on Consumer Devices and Systems held inconjunction with COMPSAC 2013
53 The 2013 IEEE/WIC/ACM Intern. Joint Conference on Web Intelligence andIntelligent Agent Technology (WI-IAT 2013)
54 The 20th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP2013)
55 The 23th Intern.Conf.Industrial & Engineering Applications of Artif. Intell. & Exp.
Systems (IEA/AIE-2013)
56 The 25th international Conference on indium Phosphide and Related Materials(IPRM2013)
57 The 2nd International Workshop on Smart Technologies for Energy, Information andCommunication (STEIC2013)
58 The 9th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics
59 The International Symposium on Multi-Agent Systems and Practical Applications(IMSPA2013)
60 The Magnetic Recording Conference 2013 (TMRC 2013)
61 Tohoku-Harvard Joint Workshop, New Directions in Materials for Nanoelectronics,
Spintronics and Photonics (The 10th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics)
62 TWHM: Topical Workshop on Heterostructure Microelectronics
63 VRST: ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology    

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9. Staff,Land and Buildings,Budget
1.Faculty & Staff                                  as of May 1, 2013
Professors

Associate
Professors

Assistant
Professors

Research
Fellows

Specially
Appointed
Professors

Administrative
StaffsTechnical
Staffs

Total

24

20

24

25

3

17

10

123

2.Researchers (FY2012)
Foreign Researcher
Visiting
Professors

Visiting
Asociate
Professors

7

1

CooperativeResearchersof Private Company
etc

JSPS
Postdoctral
Fellows

Contract
Researchers

Contract
Trainee

Total

4

4

6

1

23

3.Students                                      as of May 1, 2013


School of Engineering

Graduate School ofInformation Science

RIEC

Total

Undergraduate Students

67(1)

0

0

67(1)

Master Cource Students

76(8)

49(9)

0

125(17)

Doctor Cource Students

28(7)

10(7)

0

38(14)

Institute Research Student

0

0

5(4)

5(4)

171(16)59(16)

5(4)

235(36)Total
̪㧔 㧕Foreigner

4.Land and Building     
Site㧦Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai,980-8577, Japan
Building 㧦Total building area 12,913 ট Total floor area 28,776 ট               as of May 1, 2013
Name of Building

Structure

Year of Completion

Building No.1

Reinforced Concrete, 4 floors

Building-S㧦1962, 1963
Building-N㧦1959, 1960

7,772 টBuilding No.2
Laboratory for
Nanoelectronics andSpintronics
Laboratory for Brainware
Systems

Reinforced Concrete, 4 floors
Steel-frame, 5 floors

1962, 1963

7,085 ট2004

7,375 টReinforced Concrete, 1 floor
Reinforced Concrete(partly steel-frame), 2 floors
Steel-frame, 1 floor
Light-weight steel-frame, 2 floors
Reinforced Concrete, 3 floors

1967, 1968, 1972
1986
1996
1999

525 ট
1,553 ট
598 ট
147 ট

1930

1,343 টSteel-frame, 1 floor

2002

435 ট

1981

790 ট

1972

166 ট

Research Center for 21stCentury Information
Technology
Evaluation and Analysis
CenterHelium Sub-Center
Machine Shop
Others
Total

Reinforced Concrete, 2 floors
Reinforced Concrete(partly light-weightsteel-frame), 1 floor
Reinforced Concrete(partly light-weightsteel-frame), 1 floor

Floor Area

1965, 1966, 1978

479 ট



508 ট



28,776 ট 

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Concluding remarks 
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Thank you for reading the RIEC research activity report for the 2012 fiscal year.
Since university-affiliated research laboratories promote a wide range of studies basedon the ideas of faculty members and provide education to students and the generalpublic through their research, they play a complementary role to the laboratories ofindustries and govermnent institutions. It could also be said that the selection ofmembers at faculty meetings also provides a framework that supports research based onfree ideas. On the other hand, there is a need for constant scrutiny and verification
regarding whether the research activities fully address the needs of society, or whether
the results justify the degree of freedom given to researchers.
As mentioned in the introduction, the RIEC's field — i.e., the science and technology of
information communication and communication itself — is growing in importance as a
key part of the infrastructure of modern society. We must respond to the demand fortechnology that can be used safely and securely even in the event of a large-scale
natural disaster, and can outperform current communications technology in terms ofspeed, capacity and energy savings. At the same time, we also hope to open up a newparadigm by implementing information processing and communications in afundamentally different way that contributes to deeper mutual communication in thesociety. Although these two goals are closely related, the latter requires research into
new and uncharted territory, where breakthroughs need to be made by conducting
high-quality research based on free thinking — just the sort of research one would
expect of a research facility tied to a university.
To promote multidisciplinary research that meets the demands of society, it is essential
to have the right systems, the right scale, the right people, and the right environment.
Having been certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT) as a center for collaborative research in information science andtechnology, our future prospects depend on our being able to carry on with our usual

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research while contributing to community development by systematically promoting
joint research projects with outside researchers. Similarly, it is also essential that our
cooperation relationships with Tohoku University's other Schools covering electricaland electronic engineering. As for the environment, a new building will be built to thenorth of Building 2 at the RIEC. Being able to carry out research together with manyothers in a new and enhanced environment is a great pleasure. On the other hand, thebudget subsidies that are the basic expenses of university have been decreasing year on
year, and even the RIEC has shrunk by 10 faculty members over the last ten years. To
further develop the research being carried out here while maintaining an appropriate
scale, it is essential that we secure funding by such means as making our priorities
clearer and proposing special expenses that will allow us to request funding from
MEXT and increasing the funding associated with faculty members. It is no
exaggeration to say that we need to manage our organization than ever before.
In the external environment as described above, we are determined to continue tocontribute to the development of communication. This report describing the RIEC's
activities provides an important window into our activities, not only for us but also for
those people outside our organization. We are deeply grateful for your suggestions,encouragement and frank comments, which provide us with essential guidelines for the
future path of the RIEC.

May 1, 2013
Director, Research Institute of Electrical Communication

Hideo Ohno