A DV E RT I S E M E N T FE AT U R E

A DV E RT I S E M E N T FE AT U R E

5nm

GLOBALLY
RECOGNIZEDRESEARCH
UNIVERSITYTOKYO UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
AND TECHNOLOGY is committed toaddressing global issues through promoting
collaborative research in agricultureand engineering

Tokyo University of Agriculture
and Technology (TUAT) has along history of improving society
through advances in agriculturalscience and engineering. Ever
since its beginnings in the1870s as two government
departments that merged in1949 to form a university, TUAT
has placed a strong emphasis on
improving the lives of people inJapan and beyond. Input froma broad range of perspectives
is required to address major
global challenges such asenvironmental degradation,energy and food supply issues,and obstacles to realizing
a sustainable society. The
university’s vision is to realize
globally competitive researchcapabilities and to become ascience and technology hub fordeveloping a sustainable society.
Institute of Global
Innovation Research
In 2014, TUAT was selected by
the Japanese government as
one of 12 national universities
rapidly promoting global

research. To enhance theuniversity’s research capabilities
in agriculture and engineering,it established the Institute of
Global Innovation Research(GIR). This institute prioritizes
research in three key areas:
food, energy and life sciences. It
is developing strategic researchteams with the aim of promotinginternational collaborations.
Overseas researchers held inhigh regard by the scientificcommunity can participate in
GIR by visiting TUAT for one
to three months and focusing
solely on research. In 2016
alone, 34 overseas researchers
were either employed orinvited by GIR. Since 2014,
researchers from 39 institutes
in 14 countries (including theUS, Germany, the UK, France,Italy, Finland, Australia, Canadaand China) have been employed
or invited by GIR. Researchers
from GIR published more than
150 original papers based oninternational collaborativeresearch. The institute also
aims to help young scientists

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to develop scientific andmanagement skills by providing
various opportunities for themto interact with other scientists
from around the world.
Addressing global food andenergy problemsFood production is a criticalissue facing the internationalcommunity. In addition, risingenergy consumption globally ispredicted to continue, making
energy production and storage
increasingly important. In GIR,
Priority Field 1 Food focuses on
the food supply, environmental
conservation and biomassenergy. Priority Field 2 Energy
addresses energy problems
through technologies such as
electrochemical capacitors,
light-emitting diodes, ionicc o n t e n tliquids, marine molecules andsmart green mobility. Finally,
Priority Field 3 Life Science
focuses mainly on drug-delivery
systems, biodevices, photonics
and medical science. Life scienceis important since it can enable
scientists to find fundamental
technologies for solving foodand energy issues. Moreover, it
can have significant implications
for health and well-being.
Tackling global challenges
through researchWith a focus on agriculture
and engineering research,
TUAT is pursuing its missionof helping realize a sustainable
society. By performing
cutting-edge research, itaims to become a globally
recognized research university.

In GIR Priority Field 1 Food,
Hideshige Takada is leadinga group that, in collaboration
with a distinguished professor
from the UK, is focusing on
the environmental issue ofmicroplastic pollution. In
GIR Priority Field 2 Energy,
Katsuhiko Naoi heads agroup, which includes three
distinguished professors fromFrance, that is concentrating
on developing rapidly charging,high-energy-density batteries.
A big problem caused bysmall particles
Takada is investigating theimpact of microplastics onmarine environments. Polymers,
the main component of plastics,
are not toxic in themselves,
but Takada has found thatthey absorb and concentratetoxic chemicals such aspolychlorinated biphenyls andDDT. These persistent organic
pollutants (POPs) could maketheir way into humans via thefood chain, Takada warns.
“Plastics may increase theburden of POPs on humanhealth and adversely affectour endocrine and immunesystems,” he says.
A pollution map developed
by International Pellet Watch(www.pelletwatch.org), a
project that Takada foundedin 2005, indicates thatplastics toxified with POPs
are now found in all marine
environments. Takada andhis colleagues worldwide arecalling for policy makers toclassify most plastic waste ashazardous and impose stricter
control on it. “We should not
wait, because plastic pollution
is getting serious and we cannot
remediate it due to its tiny andpersistent nature.”
His next step is to conduct
a full risk assessment of
microplastics in marine
ecosystems. “We are not
only concerned about thedirect impacts of plasticmediated chemical pollution
to ecosystems but also about
indirect impacts such as
resurrection or remobilization oflegacy pollutants,” Takada says.
Rapid charging fora smart future
From watches to bullet trains,clean and smart technologies
are powered by energy-storage

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s o l edevices. There is a strong
demand for batteries andelectrochemical capacitors thatcan be charged more rapidly.
One promising technology formeeting this need is hybrid
supercapacitors, which haveone battery electrode and one
activated-carbon capacitor
electrode. To realize this, thecharging and discharging rates
of battery electrodes haveto be increased by a factor
of between 10 and 100, tomake them comparable tothose of capacitors. But this isdifficult without compromising
the battery’s lifespan andenergy density.
Now, Naoi has resolved thisissue by using a method that
employs ultracentrifugation.
He used this method to createa battery electrode made from
Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) nanocrystals andcarbon nanofibres and achieved
the world’s fastest charging anddischarging rates. Combining
this electrode with an active
carbon electrode, he fabricateda nanohybrid supercapacitor
whose energy density is triplethat of a conventional one.
Naoi has also used the method
to develop a super-redox
capacitor that has an evenhigher energy density than thenanohybrid supercapacitor.
Lighter and smaller thanconventional devices, Naoi’s
supercapacitors are attracting
industry. Nippon Chemi-Con
Corporation has alreadycommercialized the nanohybrid
supercapacitor. “There areplans to utilize it in light-rail
trains and electric vehicles,”Naoi comments. n

3-8-1, Harumi-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
old-www.tuat.ac.jp/en+81-42-367-5504

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