5No.

The 21st Century COE Program
Mechanical Systems Innovation, The University of Tokyo

International Symposium Series are held

The International Symposium
Series on Mechanical Systems Innovation was held for six full daysat the end of 2004, from Monday,
December 6 to Saturday, December 11, at the Takeda Conference
Hall of the University of Tokyo.
There were, in fact, three international symposia, centered on “Opening address by Prof. Hiroshi Kothree different topics: micro/nano miyama, the vice-president of the University of Tokyo”
thermal and fluids systems, biomedical systems innovation, and innovative aerial/space flyer systems. Each symposium lasted two days.
Professor Hiroshi Komiyama, the vice-president of the Universityof Tokyo, presided over the opening of these series and our project
leader, Professor Nobuhide Kasagi, introduced the 21st Century
COE Program, “Mechanical Systems Innovation.” We invited famous researchers from home and abroad, and provided them multiple opportunities to exchange information about frontier researchin their various fields. Poster sessions in each symposium invited
presentations from numerous graduate students and young faculty
members in the COE. This marked a great opportunity for them to
inform the scientific community of their research.

EJanuary 1, 2005

This symposium
was held for two
full days on Monday, December 6and Tuesday, December 7. About150
researchers
from home andabroad gathered to“Question from Prof. Sebastian Volz”
exchange information and thus expand their understandings of micro/
nano thermal and fluids systems in the field of biotechnology and energy.
The first day featured lectures on micro/nano thermal and fluids systems by Professor F. Jensen (Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) and Professor Stish G. Kandlikar (Rochester Institute ofTechnology, USA).
On the second day, Dr. Sebastian Volz (Ecole Central Parl, France) posted new information about nearfield heat transfer between nanoparticles. There were13 additional speakers this day, including 6 speakers
from overseas. Their presentations were followed by
active discussion.
About 40 graduate and post-doc students displayed
poster presentations throughout the two days, andthey had a wonderful opportunity to develop a senseof the international research through active information exchange with the invited researchers.

This symposium was held for two full days on Wednesday, December 8 and Thursday, December 9. It
was kicked off with an opening address by Professor
Kimihiko Hirao, Dean of the School of Engineering.
This symposium consisted of four sessions: biomedical systems simulation, surgical and welfare robotic
systems, noninvasive or minimally invasive medical
therapy and nano/micro bioengineering. About 110
researchers from home and abroad gathered and exchanged information. Leading researchers in theirvarious fields delivered lectures. Professor Paolo
Dario (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy) and Profes-sor Charles A. Taylor(Stanford University,USA) posted new information
about
medical therapy andbiotechnology research. There were16 speakers including 5 speakers from “Presentaion by Prof. Paolo Dario”
overseas. There wasan active discussion after each lecture.

This symposium was held for two full days on Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11. The
opening address was delivered by Professor Kimihiko Hirao, Dean of the School of Engineering. The latest research developments concerning dynamics
and the design of micro /unmanned air vehicles
were presented. There were 19 speakers including
10 speakers from overseas. About 190 researchers
from home and abroad gathered and exchanged information.
Perhaps the most impressive lecture was a demonstration flight of the world’s smallest autonomousvehicle, developed by Dr. Osamu Miyazawa (SeikoEpson Co. Ltd.). He demonstrated three minutes ofcontinuous flight by the vehicle onstage. The par-ticipants burst intoapplause. An active question-andanswer period washeld after the session.
About 20 graduate students had
short presentations “Flight demonstration by Dr. Osamu
in the poster ses- Miyazawa”
sion on the second day. There was an active discussion between researchers and young faculty members. This was of great value to the developing
young researchers.

Voices from young researchers
Effects of Mechanical Forces on Cells
Shunsuke Iwayoshi, Ph.D. course student, Department of Mechanical Engineering
In physiological conditions, themovement of blood through bloodvessels generates physical forceson the blood vessels such as shear
stress due to tangential dragging by
flow and circumferential strain due
to pulsatile pressure changes. Thesemechanical forces cause blood vessel remodeling, in vivo, and also cell shape changes,
in vitro. For example, when cyclic uniaxial stretch isapplied to cultured endothelial cells (ECs), which consist of blood vessel inner lumen, ECs change theirshapes within several hours to become more oriented
and more elongated perpendicular to the direction ofstretch. It has been suggested that cytoskeleton and
Rho family GTPase signaling are involved in this cell
shape remodeling, but the roles of these molecules
are still unclear. In my research, I am trying to reveal

the mechanisms of endothelial morphological changes in response to cyclic stretch by visualization ofactin cytoskeleton remodeling via the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) technique and of Rho GTPase signaling via the Fluorescent Energy Transfer (FRET)
technique.
Since mechanical forces effect tissue remodeling,
they are expected to be powerful tools in constructing
tissue-engineered organs with the desired mechanicalproperties for regenerative medicine. In addition,mechanical forces can cause pathological conditions
such as arteriosclerosis. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which cells respond to mechanical forces
would be a great help in advanced medicine. As research in this field needs the contributions of mechanical engineers as well as biologists, I hope to do
creative work as a research assistant of the 21st century COE Program, Mechanical System Innovation.

Micro- and Meso-scale analyses of lipid membranes
Taisuke Sugii, Ph.D. course student, Department of Mechanical Engineering
My research is related to multi-scale
analysis of microcirculation systems,
and belongs to the project of “HyperModeling / Simulation” within thisCOE program. Blood is a multi-component fluid, containing dispersed
components such as red blood cells(RBCs). In microcirculation systems,
blood flows through capillaries, which are often narrower
than the size of the RBCs, leading to deformation of theRBCs. Therefore, the dynamics of blood flow with deformable components plays an important role in maintaining a normal distribution of nutrients and gases suchas oxygen throughout the body, and in keeping tissues
in a healthy state. Moreover, many applications of artificially dispersed components as carriers have been recently proposed; one prominent example is Drug Delivery System (DDS), in which medical agents are enclosed
in vesicles (closed components made of amphiphilicmolecules just as RBCs are) and delivered to the affected area of the body. For these and other reasons, investigations of the behavior of vesicles in blood capillaries have become important. In our laboratory, we areattacking this problem on various scales: those of themembrane molecules (the micro-scale), the vesicle (themeso-scale) and the blood flow containing many vesicles (the macro-scale). My research involves micro- andmeso-scale computer simulations of lipid membranes.
For example, I have analyzed the responses of molecules and membranes to mechanical stimulations suchas membrane dilation or shear flow, and have investigated the relationships of my findings to macroscopic theories of membrane deformation. Many macroscopic
phenomena are closely related to microscopic behaviors
of membrane molecules when vesicle dynamics is accompanied by deformations and molecular transport
across membranes. I am also considering a systematic
analysis from the micro-scale to the meso- or the macroscale. Meanwhile, through the many activities of thisCOE project, I have had opportunities to meet students
and researchers from various laboratories. It is very beneficial to have the chance to extend my understanding inthis way, because I need a broad frame of reference todeal with these multi-scale phenomena. I deeply value
this opportunity to develop working relationships withother researchers.

Report of MICCAI 2004
7th Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention
Naohiko Sugita, Research Associate, Department of Engineering Synthesis
From September 26 to September 30 in 2004, I
participated in the 7th Symposium on Medical
Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention (MICCAI2004) held at St. Malo in France.
International conferences in computer graphics, image analysis, robotics (VBC, CVRMed,MRCAS) were unified in 1998, and this international conference was born as a gathering of thehighest authorities in the respective fields. Cooperation between specialists of various disciples like medicine and engineering, image engineering and robotics, image analysis andgraphics is especially important in an environment of rapidly evolving technology.
Presentations consisted of lectures and poster
displays, and there were separate sessions in“Registration,” “Segmentation,” “Medical image
analysis / visualization” and “Medical robot engineering.”

I presented aposter with thetitle, “Development of a Novel Robot-Assisted Orthopaedic Systemdesigned for
Total Knee ArHall for lectures
throplasty.”
This study was related to a medical robot-surgery system that aids in bone-cutting during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). I received valuableadvice on my project from those who discussed
it with me.
I also participated in a plenary session and feelthat it was very useful because I was able to debate with many researchers about issues inmedical imaging / robotics.

Cross-department doctoral course
Shinsuke Sakai, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
A cross-department doctoral course is being
carried out as one of the main objectives of the21st century program, “Mechanical System Innovation (MSI).” The target students are mainly
doctoral course students in 6 COE-related departments who have been selected as research
assistants (RA). The main activity of this educational program is three classes in the School ofEngineering entitled, “Mechanical System Innovation I, II and III”. These classes are managed
by Prof. Sakai (Dept. Mechanical Engineering),
Prof. Washizu (Dept. Mechanical Engineering)and Prof. Nakasuka (Dept. Aeronautics and Astronautics) together with research associatesand PDs. The classes correspond to the threemain fields in MSI, energy, biomedical engineering and hyper modeling. Several teams of 4 to 5
students from different departments are formedin each class. At the beginning, the team subject is developed and the team members discuss the subject. In addition to the student discussion, related persons are invited to the classand a seminar with discussion is held. Eachteam member is allocated an assignment. Theinterim open workshop for the team activities isheld at the end of the summer semester, and thefinal workshop is held at the end of the yearlong sequence, in January. In the final workshop, an outline of each group’s activities is presented in English, and the details are shown atposter session afterwards. In addition, the RAstudents are supposed to join the COE-related
research seminars and international symposiums. It is expected that these diverse experiences and interactions will lend students a newperspective of mechanical engineering.

A Specially Appointed Professor is EmployedToshiki Iino, Specially appointed professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
My name is Toshiki Iino. I started
working as a professor for the 21stcentury COE program “MechanicalSystems Innovation” in January of thisyear (2005).
Graduating from Department ofMechanical Engineering, the University of Toyko in 1969, I started my career as a researcher in the field of fluids engineering at theMechanical Engineering Research Laboratory of Hitachi,Ltd. Over several decades, I have been engaged mainly in
R & D management for that firm, as well as being an active participant in various societies of engineers. I resigned from Hitachi last December.
My mission in the COE program “Mechanical SystemsInnovation” is to develop a unique education system for
the University of Tokyo based on a reasonable projectionof what society’s needs will be in the middle of the 21stcentury. We are also striving to create a better flow of human resources between industry and academe, by whichsome doctoral course graduates will enter industries andlead R & D activities there and some of these will return tothe university to pursue research and teaching there. I believe this kind of human resource circulation will lead to amore attractive and relevant doctoral course education
and will thus spearhead a revival in Japanese industries.
Participating as a member of the COE program will
broaden my connections with leaders in various appliedresearch fields, and will thus contribute enormously to theinnovations I seek to implement.

Specially Appointed Research Associates are Employed
Yosuke Hasegawa, Specially Appointed Research
Associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Kensuke Tsuchiya, Specially Appointed Research

I am Yosuke Hasegawa. I earneda Ph.D. in Engineering in September, 2004, and started working as a
specially appointed research associate of the 21st century COE program in October 1st, 2004.
In my doctoral course, I was involved in the development of ahigh Schmidt number turbulent mass transfer model
for CO2 absorption into free liquid interfaces. Research on how to predict the gas transfer rate fromobservable information such as wind velocity, surface slope, etc. is quite challenging work, since it involves many hydrodynamic factors such as turbulent
transport, multi-phase flow, interfacial waves, etc.
Furthermore, recent experimental results suggest thecritical roles of surface-chemical factors such as surface contamination and the presence of electrolytes.
My own experience with this research has indicatedthe need for multi-physics and multi-scale analyses
for better prediction of gas exchange in the future.
Establishment of hyper-modeling and high-performance simulation is one of the key issues in thisCOE program. I would like to take this opportunity toconsider how these simulation techniques can support the creation of innovative mechanical systems. Ivery much appreciate the valuable advice from advanced colleagues and active discussion with them I
have experienced thus far in this program.

My name is Kensuke Tsuchiya. I
have been a specially appointed
research associate in this 21st
COE program since October 20,2004.
I worked as a research associatefor two and a half years at the Institute of Engineering Innovation in
the University of Tokyo, after receiving a Ph.D. in theDepartment of Engineering Synthesis.
My specialty is micro-/nano- fabrication and assembly. When I was a student, I developed a 3-dimensional handling system for use under a ScanningElectron Microscope that featured end effectors installed with manipulators. I applied the system to Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection and DNA surgery.
Initially, I constructed micro-structures to demonstrate the system; however, the actual operation
showed it to have low performance. Thus, I targeted
high-value operations in refining the system.
Recently, I have been involved in developing various micro-devices for biomedical, chemical and production technologies. I would like to make further
contributions by collaborating with researchers inother fields.

Associate, Department of Engineering Synthesis

Program Executive Organization
Project Promoters
Program leader
Nobuhide Kasagi
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Energy innovation
Toshio Nagashima
Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering
Chisachi KatoProfessor, Department of Human and Society, Institute of Industrial Science
Takayuki Terai
Professor, Department of Quantum Engineering and System Science, Schoolof Engineering
Kazuo Kageyama
Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering, School ofEngineering
Nobuo Takeda
Professor, Department of Advanced Energy, School of Frontier Sciences
Tamaki Ura
Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering, Institute ofIndustrial Science
Shinichi Nakasuka
Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering
Toyoshisa Fujita
Professor, Department of Geosystem Engineering, School of Engineering

Biomedical innovation
Mamoru Mitsuishi
Professor, Department of Engineering Synthesis, School of Engineering
Masao Washizu
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Masayuki Nakao
Professor, Department of Engineering Synthesis, School of Engineering
Teruo Fujii
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engieering,
Institute of Industrial Science
Hyper modeling / simulation
Masahiro Shoji
Professor emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Yoichiro Matsumoto
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Takafumi Fujita
Professor, Department of Information and System, Institute of Industrial Science
Hideaki Miyata
Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering, School ofEngineering
Shinsuke Sakai
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering

Specially appointed members
Toshiki Iino
Specially Appointed Professor, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering
Kensuke TsuchiyaSpecially Appointed Research Associate, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering
Yosuke Hasegawa
Specially Appointed Research Associate, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering

Advisory Committee
Advisory Committeemen
Koutaro InoueSenior Fellow, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Noboru Kikuchi
Professor, The University of Michigan

Yoshitsugu Kimura
Tetsuya Tateishi

Chair, President, Kagawa University
Professor, Tokyo Denki University

Activities of Mechanical Systems Innovation Program (scheduled)〈Open Seminars〉◎FY2004-15th Seminar
Date: December 15, 2004
Venue
: Conference Room No.1, Institute of Industrial Science,
Komaba Campus
Speaker : Dr. Peigang Deng (Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
Subject : Micro Bubble Actuator for DNA Hybridization Enhancement◎FY2004-16th Seminar
Date: January 28, 2005
Venue: Lecture Room No.226, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.8,
Hongo Campus
Speaker : Prof. Rodney S. Ruoff (Department of Mechanical Engineering,Northwestern University)
Subject : Mechanics of Nanostructures and Nanocomposites◎FY2004-17th Seminar
Date: March 9, 2005
Venue: Seminar Room No.2, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.2,
Hongo Campus
Speaker : Prof. Yu-Chong Tai (Department of Electrical Engineering andBioengineering, Calfornia Institute of Technology)
Subject : MEMS for Biomedical Applications: Emphasizing Blood Count
On-a-Chip and Flexible Retinal Implant〈Special Lecture〉◎Cape Horn Expedition 2004
Date: June 28, 2004
Venue
: Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus
Speaker : Prof. Yoshio Tsukio (Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Tokyo)
Subject : Cape Horn Expedition 2004
〈International Symposia〉◎International Sympsium on Micro/Nano Thermal and Fluids Systems
Date: December 6-7, 2004
Venue
: Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus◎International Sympsium on Biomedical Systems InnovationDate: December 8-9, 2004
Venue
: Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus◎International Sympsium on Innovative Aerial Robotics
Date: December 10-11, 2004
Venue
: Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus〈Cross-Department Doctoral Course〉◎Research Assistant Final Debrief Session
Date: January 28, 2005
Venue: Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus

The 21st Century COE Program Mechanical Systems Innovation, Newsletter No.5E
January 1, 2005
The 21st Century COE Program Mechanical Systems Innovation Office, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
Phone and Fax/+81 3 5841 7437
URL/http://www.mechasys.jp/

In the interests of environmental conservation,thisnewsletter was printed
using soybean oil ink.