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Associate Professor Makoto HASEGAWA

Nuclear fusion is considered a next-generation technology that will enable sustainable energy supply, especially since its control is extremely difficult, requiring real-time control of complex plasma behavior and efficient energy extraction. We are tackling various technical issues for the practical application of fusion energy by utilizing information technology and control theory to realize stable and efficient generation and control of fusion energy. Advanced experiments and research on long plasma duration, highly efficient plasma confinement, and suppression of plasma instabilities are conducted using QUEST, the largest spherical tokamak device in Asia, located at the Chikushi Campus.
Our laboratory cooperates with the Fusion Plasma Physics and Control Engineering (Ido and Kinoshita), Fusion Plasma Science and Technology (Hanada and Onchi), and Advanced Plasma Science and Engineering (Idei and Ikezoe) laboratories to promote education and research.

●Development of plasma control technology using machine learning
●Study on generation and maintenance of divertor plasmas
●Numerical Predictive Modeling of Plasmas for Prediction and Optimization
●Research on real-time processing with sensor technology and data collection
●Development of robust feedback control system to suppress instability

Professor Kazunari Katayama, 　
Labo Site

With the aim of developing attractive next-generation energy systems, we are engaged in education and research in the fields of chemical engineering such as process engineering and thermal mass transfer engineering. Through fundamental experiments, we try to model chemical reactions and mass transfer phenomena, and then to use numerical simulations to pursue optimal systems. In the development area of ​​most advanced science and technology, there are many situations in which it is difficult to predict phenomena based on just conventional knowledge.In our laboratory, we are challenging to correctly understand and model mass transfer phenomena occuring in special environments such as the interface between plasma or supercritical CO2 and solid walls, the flow field of high-temperature melts (liquid metals and molten salts), and the field of nuclear transmutation reaction by neutrons. Additonally, we are also actively studying on the hydrogen production using solid electrolyte cell or plasma, and environmental dynamics of tritium, which is a radioactive hydrogen isotope. These scientific achievements will be useful for the realization of nuclear fusion reactors, next-generation fission reactors, and a society utilizing hydrogen energy and renewable energy.

・Development of fuel cycle system in fusion power plants.
・Modeling of tritium mass transfer phenomena in soils and plants
・Development of liquid metal and molten salt circulation system
・Development of hydrogen production / extraction technology using plasma, solid electrolytic cells, etc.

Professor Yukinobu Watanabe , Assistant Professor Shoichiro Kawase, 　
Labo Site

"Nuclear and radiation physics engineering research supporting a safe, secure, and smart future society" We are conducting interdisciplinary research related to physics and medicine/engineering with the aim of cutting-edge application of particle beams such as neutrons and muons to the fields of energy, medicine, space development, etc. Using advanced techniques of experiments, theoretical calculations, and numerical simulations, we are intensively studying the mechanisms of cosmic-rays induced soft errors in semiconductor devices, reduction and resource recycling of high-level radioactive wastes through nuclear transmutation, the development of a new radiopharmaceutical manufacturing method used for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and deterioration diagnosis of small and medium-sized infrastructure equipment with muography technique, and so on.

・Cosmic-rays induced soft errors in semiconductor devices
・Reduction and resource recycling of high-level radioactive wastes through nuclear transmutation
・Structure perspective with advanced muography technique
・Medical RI production with accelerator neutrons
・Development of advanced radiation detectors and data analysis methods

Professor Michitaka Ohtaki , Associate Professor Suekuni Koichiro, 　
Labo Site

This laboratory was established in 2013 focusing on development of energy-oriented novel functional materials based on inorganic materials science, physical and solid state chemistry, and condensed matter physics. It also aims at more comprehensive targets in materials science by combining a wide variety of the properties of inorganic materials and an extensive tunability of organic molecules. The most distinguished achievement of our lab is a pioneering work on oxide and sulfide thermoelectric materials resulting in our continuing accomplishments on the best performances of both n- and p-type bulk thermoelectric oxides. Our perspective, however, is not limited to the thermoelectric materials, but extends to unconventional approaches in materials chemistry and physics for next-generation materials including low-dimensional quantum-confined inorganic nanomaterials spontaneously formed in the presence of self-assembly molecular templates exploiting organic surfactant molecules.

●Oxide- and sulfide-based thermoelectric materials with novel crystal structures, chemical compositions, and nanostructures
●Selectively enhanced phonon scattering by nano-inclusions and nano-heterointerfaces
●Novel material processing for oxide/non-oxide nanocomposite ceramics
●Anomalous solid solubility expansion and its application to unconventional intensive doping by multi-element co-doping
●Layered, caged, and rattling crystal structures and their thermal and electronic properties
●Low-dimensional inorganic nanomaterials spontaneously formed by organic molecular assembly templates and their peculiar quantum properties

Professor　Tsuyoshi YOSHITAKE , Assistant Professor　Hiroshi NARAGINO, 　
Labo Site

We conduct research on sensing materials and devices, as well as the processes and evaluation technologies required for device fabrication, encompassing elemental technologies from material creation to evaluation and device fabrication. For the creation of sensing materials, we primarily employ physical vapor deposition methods such as sputtering and coaxial arc plasma deposition. Recently, with the aim of creating IoT devices capable of operating in extreme environments such as outer space, we have been focusing on the creation of all-diamond optical, magnetic, and chemical sensing devices.

● Development of all-diamond optical, magnetic, and chemical sensing devices capable of operating in extreme environments, including outer space
●Fabrication of pn-junction-type photodetectors based on heteroepitaxial growth of gallium oxide films on diamond substrates
●Process development for nanodiamond film growth by physical vapor deposition and its applications to hard coatings and bioaffinity coatings