Special Committee on Globalization of Education & Research, Faculty of Science & Engineering, Iwate University

K E N G U R O季刊報
Quarterly

FY2017
Digest3D Ganchan: Produced byan on-campus company, MMM

Issued on March 31, 2018

Focus on !! Interviews with international students about their research
Currently, approximately 110 international undergraduate and graduate students, mainly from Asian countries (China, Korea,
Bangladesh, Mongolia etc.), are studying at Faculty of Science and Engineering. This time, we interviewed three international
graduate students for their research and living at Iwate. Here are the reports.

Mr. Wenxu Sun（China） Electrical Engineering and Computer Science D3【Research theme】： 「3-D Visualization of cardiac activity using Magneto-cardiography」

He researched here for 3 years.
Next month, he is transferringto National cerebral andCardiovascular Center Hospital in
Osaka to operate clinical testing ofMagneto-cardiography. He has twolittle children. He also mentioned
about the kindness of professor andhow earnest the students are here.

Electrochemical activity of cardiac muscle cells gives rise to anelectromagnetic field. To study the electrical activity of the heart, thisﬁeld is measured and analyzed: Electrocardiography (ECG) measuresdifferences of electric potential on the body surface, and magnetocardiography (MCG) measures the magnetic field outside the body.
Since the MCG usually has multi-channel and high sensitivity, it is largely
expected for clinical applications. However, the biggest challenge for
MCG application is 3-D cardiac visualization technic. That is using themeasured signals to estimate the current sources. In the past decades,
the equivalent current dipole model was usually used for MCG source
localization. However, single or several dipoles cannot well explain themeasured data. In my research, we developed a spatial filter method
to visualize the cardiac electrical activities. And it can also construct a
reliable 3-D outline of the cardiac.

Contactless
examination
with MCG (top).
Active regionsof cardiac by
analyzing thedetected signals(right)Ms. Limmun Warunee (Thailand） Frontier Matter and Function Engineering D2【Research theme】：「Removal of NP1EO in water and sludge samples by potassium ferrate」
Sewage sludge has been increasingly recognized as a resource rather than a waste. The sludge canbe reused as fertilizer or soil conditioners as an alternative management option to disposal. However,sewage sludge also contains toxic and micropollutants such as nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO),
pharmaceuticals and heavy metals, which might have adverse impacts on human health and ecosystem at very
low concentrations. In biological wastewater treatment process, NP1EO are degraded incompletely and tend
to remain in sewage sludge. Therefore, it will be necessary
to remove NP1EO in sludge before being discharged to theenvironment. Potassium ferrate (K2FeO4, Fe(VI)) is a strong
and ecologically friendly oxidant. Consequently, Fe(VI) wasused as procedure to mediate NP1EO degradation. The
maximum removal efﬁciency of NP1EO was 78% and 97% inwater and sludge samples under conditions examined in thisstudy, respectively. This study demonstrated that Fe(VI) had apotential to degrade NP1EO in water and sludge samples.

Before entering Iwate Univ., she
was a teacher of Univ. in Thai. The
cold weather in Morioka was really
tough for her at ﬁrst. Someday, shewants to climb up Mt. Iwate. One
request to Iwate Univ. is that it will
be helpful to those international
students if there are English versionof the application forms to apply for
the Graduate School.

Ms. Tasmin Nishat（Bangladesh） Computer Science and Intelligent Systems M1【Research theme】：「Machine Learning Algorithm Implementation in FPGA」

In 2017, she entered Hirayama Lab, which
her husband was in. She is learning theJapanese language eagerly and tried
for the Japanese-Learning Proficiency
Test. She also loves to watch Japanese
animations, especially "Heidi." Shewatches those with her two-year-old son
together.

There are various machine learning algorithms in the ﬁeld of Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI) which provides
systems the ability to learn and improve from experience automatically. Now the question is "What is AI?"AI is the development of computer systems which is one kind of intelligence demonstrated by machines.
In contrast, the natural intelligence is displayed by human and other animals. AI has applications in theinternet of things (IoT), deep learning, machine learning, robotics, etc. Let's discuss simple examples ofthe machine learning algorithms which we are using every day such as Facebook, Google Maps, Google
Search, etc. Consider Facebook. When Facebook prompts you to tag your friends, it uses some kind ofimpressive technology to recognize familiar faces from your contact list. For this, Facebook uses a machinelearning algorithm. I want to develop a computer program for the machine learning algorithm that can run in
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), where an FPGA is one type of chip which can be programmed
after manufacture. We will use this algorithm in numerous applications such as the mechanical control, thesensor monitoring, and the opponent of a game who needs reﬂexes like ﬁghting games.

Focus on !!

Introducing research work by young faculty members
at the Faculty of Science and Engineering !!

Kenguro Quarterly regularly introduces young faculty members to spread outstanding research achievements to the rest of theuniversity and society at large. The following faculty members will introduce their research themes relating to this: AssistantProfessor, Toshihiko Mandai from the Chemistry Course of the Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, Associate
Professor, Taku Ozaki from the Biological Sciences Course of the Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, AssistantProfessor, Haruka Taniguchi from the Mathematical Science and Physics Course of the Department of Physical Science and Materials
Engineering, and Assistant Professor, Takami Abe from the Electrical, Electronic, and Communication Engineering Course of the
Department of Systems Innovation Engineering.

★ Assis. Prof. Toshihiko Mandai: Development of electrolyte materials for innovative batteries
Lithium ion secondary batteries are widely spread and used for various electronic devices
from small ones like mobile phones and laptop PC to large including electric vehicles. Different
large-scale energy storage technologies are however strongly required to realize an energy★ Assis. Prof. Haruka Taniguchi: In search of new multiferroics!!
Electrons that decide the nature of solid substances have the charge degree of freedom andthe spin degree of freedom (the direction of the small magnet which each electron has). For
normal substances, an electric ﬁeld affects the electrical charge and a magnetic ﬁeld affects
the spin. However, interestingly, their interactions crisscross in “multiferroics” that have bothspontaneous electric polarization (macro-deviation of electrical charge) and magnetic order(periodic structure of the spin). The electric ﬁeld affects the magnetic nature and the magnetic
ﬁeld affects the electric nature (magnetoelectric effect),
and this effect can be applied to energy-efﬁcient memory
devices. Our lab synthesizes various polycrystalline
manganese oxides and investigates the dielectric andmagnetic properties in an attempt to discover new

and materials sustainable society (Figure 1). Our lab engages in research and developmentof so-called innovative batteries. Innovative batteries, especially multivalent metal batteries
based on magnesium, zinc, and aluminum, are one of the most promising technologies to
respond the growing demands for electric power owing to many advantageous propertiesof these multivalent metals than those of lithium, i.e. large volumetric capacity, large naturalabundance, and low cost. Moreover, development of the multivalent metal batteries would
offer improved safety. One of the major obstacle for materialization of such batteries is the very
Figure 1: Future society realized byinnovative batteries
stable passivation ﬁlm on these multivalent metal surface, whichmake the metals inactive electrochemically. Many researchers
have focused on the electrolytes with high reactivity (thusunstable in the air) that could remove this passive film. We
here designed novel electrolytes not “destroy the passive ﬁlm”
but rather “prevent passivation of metal” (Figure 2). I believethat the development of electrolyte materials from diversified
Figure 2: Structure of newly synthesized
standpoints – electrochemistry, structural chemistry, and organic
magnesium salt
Assis. Prof. Mandai examines chemistry – will bring practical innovative batteries.

Figure 1: Crystal structure of manganeseoxide (top left), conceptual illustrationof measuring the dielectric constant(top right), and sample prepared for the
dielectric measurement (bottom)

multiferroics. Some substances exhibited a dielectric
constant anomaly and magnetoelectric effect. Now,
we engage in collaborative research to grow single
crystals and are studying how electric and magnetic
characteristics will change when directions of electricfield or magnetic field are changed. By identifying
the conditions for the reinforcement of multiferroic
characteristics, we will elucidate the mechanism of themagnetoelectric effect in each group of substances andfurther discover more highly-functional new substances.

Figure 2: In front of a GM freezer that cancool down to -268 ℃ . Low temperatureexperiments have an advantage incontrolling the effect of heat ﬂuctuation to
extract the essence of substances.

Figure 3: Staff and students of Matsukawa
Lab that Taniguchi is afﬁliated with (at the
lab’s welcome party)★ Assis. Prof. Takami Abe: Research on optical devices using a ZnO single crystal substrate!!

molecular design

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a chemical compound made of oxygen and zinc and widely used in familiar
products including face powders, sunscreen, and a wide range of medical products such as ointments.

★ Assoc. Prof. Taku Ozaki: Focusing on the physiological function of mitochondrial protease !

ZnO is a wide-bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 3.37 eV at room temperature and expected

Calpain is one of the intracellular proteases and controls various vital phenomenon including generation, cell differentiation, and cell
death. People had thought calpain only existed in cytoplasm until 2005 and we discovered that there are two types of calpains in the
mitochondria, an organelle. We found that these calpains play roles for cell death and energy generation. We are currently studying anovel mitochondrial calpain and its functions.(Figure 1)
We also focused on the fact that many proteins related to cell death are combined with other partner proteins including molecularchaperone and scaffolding protein. And we discovered a way to control the function of the proteins by introducing peptide tocompetitively inhibit their interaction. We are now developing new peptide drugs for neurodegenerative diseases of the brain andretina.(Figure 2)

to become a material for high efﬁciency UV-LED and UV sensors.
We have so far developed a homojunction UV-LED using the ZnO single crystal substrate to conﬁrm
the exciton emission and successfully improved the luminous efficiency by developing the ZnO/
MgZnO heterojunction UV-LED. We also engage in research on photoconductive UV sensors using
the ZnO single crystal substrate and already conﬁrmed that weak UV leaking from ﬂuorescent light
can be detected with high sensitivity. These sensors have very a simple structure and their traits
include compact size and durability as well as high photosensitivity (Figure 1). We are also working toAssis. Prof. Takami Abe

develop a radiation detector by applying this UV sensor to combine with UV scintillator (YAP:Ce) andconﬁrmed that it worked as the radiation detector by using X-ray as a sources of radiation. In addition,
we started growing
a ZnO single crystal
as a basis of thisresearch work (Figure2) and are looking
to further accelerate
the research on ZnO
devices.

Assoc. Prof. Taku Ozaki

Figure 1: Studying life phenomena centeredaround mitochondria

Figure 2: Drug development against
neurodegenerative diseases

Figure 1: Prototype of ZnO-UV sensing element and canned package (top left) and exterior of
the UV sensor equipment (top right)

Figure 2: ZnO bulk single
crystals were actually grown.

★ 26 guests from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Thailand
A group of 26 guests from the King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL)
in Thailand visited for three days from June 15 to 17, 2017. This group, including faculty
members, technical staff and students, visited Iwate Univ. to participate in the first Joint
International Symposium. Faculty members from both universities gave keynote speeches.
This was followed by two sessions in which participants split into two groups to introduce theirresearch in the physics/mathematics ﬁeld and the chemistry/biochemistry ﬁeld respectively.
A total of 39 participants, 16 from KMITL and 23 from our Faculty participated in this twoday symposium. Students and technical staff also got to know each other through the poster
session and other activities.
As part of the visit, they took a tour around research labs and technical staff from both
universities exchanged their knowledge. Iwate Univ. technical staff showed them experiments
done by the students of the Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, the Advanced
Manufacturing and Prototyping Center, and the Center for Hiraizumi Studies. All the Thai
participants received name plates made with a combined machine tool called the machining
center in the Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Center as a gift. They enjoyed visiting
Geibikei Gorge in Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi on the last day and all participants greatly enjoyedspending time together.

Poster session bytechnical staff andstudents (left). A totalof 24 presentations
including 6 fromThailand and 18 fromI w a t e U n i v. w e r egiven.

Boat ride at Geibikei
Gorge (right).
Participants had agreat time listening to
the folk songs sungby the boatman andsinging Thai songs.

★ Ten students were invited from China and Mongolia

With the support of the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science(Sakura Science) by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, ten
students were invited from China and Mongolia from November 10 (Fri)to 17 (Fri), 2017. The program was hosted under the theme, “Experience
the Cutting-edge Digital Contents and Media Technologies!”
On the second and third day of the program, students went toMorioka to participate in a research gathering on computer graphics
and multimedia called NICOGRAPH. The guest students were fromsoftware backgrounds and listened to sessions on the latest virtual
reality and augmented reality with great interest. On the fourth andfifth day, they worked on the research assignments prepared in eachlab. On the sixth day, they reported the results in four presentations:“3D modeling by photo measurement and subsequent model making
with a 3D printer,” “lecture on product designing and observation of
actual products,” “lecture on biological sensing technologies, making
electrocardiograms using electronic circuits, and measurement of theelectrocardiogram,” and “lecture on the application of the random graphtheory and non-linear time series model to media technologies andsimulation experience.” Students later took a campus and labs tour led
by Iwate Univ. students and went to Tokyo by Shinkansen. They visited
the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation and went
back home the following day in high spirits but with a lingering farewell.

Lab practice. Students engage
in computer processing for 3Dmodeling.

Party on the fourth night. Many of the
Iwate Univ. international students attended
and had a great time talking about Iwate
Univ. and their home countries.

Participants' voice
Mr. G. Bilguun, Mongolian Univ. of Science and Technology M2 :It'sa pleasure to visit to Japan even it's a very short term, during the
program amazed by students' learning environment and technicalresources. Professors are very kind, easy to communicate and theirlatest research works are very interesting. In the end i'm observing
possibilities to studying in Japan
Ms. Caiyan Xing, Northwest A&F Univ. M3 (China）: I was able tolearn about Japanese culture and lifestyle and feel the passion andkindness of the instructors through this program. Japanese students
introduced their specialized knowledge and related software at thelab and we were able to meet and talk about our future plans and thecurrent state of our research. I hope this exchange will continue in the
future.

★ Student exchange with Hanbat National University, Korea
We organize mutual student exchange every year with Hanbat National University in Korea. This year marks the fourth year and the programs were
held from September 4-7 and November 7-11 in 2017. There were joint PBL-based programs both at Hanbat National University and Iwate University.

● 9/4 ～ 9/7 at Hanbat National University
After the self-introduction by 11 Iwate University students and 11 Hanbat National University students,
Iwate University students gave presentations on the ﬁve PBL themes: (1) “Safety in society, especially forchildren and elderly”, (2) “Creating sustainable energy technology for space colonization,” (3) “Sustainablesocial infrastructure,” (4) “Water resource management,” and (5) “Future transportation.” Students weredivided into ﬁve groups and each group, with Korean and Japanese students, engaged in the joint PBL.
Participants then moved to Jeonju, which is famous for good bibimbap. After learning about the historicalculture of Korea at the National Intangible Heritage Center, students split into groups to explore the streetsof Jeonju freely. They tried colorful chima jeogori and took many pictures, enjoying the town to its full extent.

Group photo after the joint PBL● 11/7 ～ 11/11 at Iwate University
Students heard mid-term reports of the joint PBL on the ﬁrst day. Based on the harsh feedback from Korean andJapanese faculty members, students continued discussions and summarized them in the slides. The afternoon of
the second day was spent on the PBL debrieﬁng session. Each team, whether individual members or as a team,
introduced various ideas. Teams with outstanding presentations were awarded. Students moved to Hiraizumi on thethird day and took a tour around Chusonji Temple and Motsuji Temple. They were in time for perfect autumn colors
and took many pictures.

In front of the Pure Land Jodo
Garden at the Motsuji Temple

Editor： Special Committee on Globalization of Education and Research, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University
Email: kenguro@iwate-u.ac.jp , TEL: 019-621-6405