An international research project at Kobe University’s Molecular Photoscience Research Center has been selected by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for its ‘Core-to-Core Program: B. Asia-Africa Science Platforms’ (FY 2023).

Project Title / Principal Investigator

＜Project Title＞
Asian Research Network for Terahertz Molecular Science
＜Principal Investigator＞
Professor TOMINAGA Keisuke, Director, Molecular Photoscience Research Center
＜Project Period＞
FY2023-FY2025

Core Institutions

＜Core institutions (partner countries)＞
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India)
  • National Taiwan University (Taiwan)
  • University of the Philippines, Los Baños (the Philippines)
＜Cooperating institutions (Japan)＞
  • University of Fukui
  • National Institute of Natural Sciences (NINS)
  • Shizuoka University
＜Cooperating institutions (partner countries)＞
  • University of the Philippines, Diliman (the Philippines)
  • De La Salle University (the Philippines)

Project details

＜Core-to-Core Program＞
The JSPS’s Core-to-Core Program is designed to create top world-class research centers that partner over the long term with other core research institutions around the world in advancing research in leading-edge fields, on issues of high international priority, and in areas that contribute towards resolving prevailing problems in Asian and African regions. At the same time, the project aims to nurture the next generation of young researchers who will play pivotal roles in the future. Research targets for the Type B grant on Asia-Africa Science Platforms are topics considered to be of particular importance or significance to Asia and/or Africa and high priority within Japan.
＜Outline of the selected project’s research＞
In light of the central role it has played in the development of terahertz molecular science, Kobe University’s Molecular Photoscience Research Center aims to establish a research network in Asia. This network will bring together Taiwan and India, where extensive basic research has been conducted, and other Asian countries (the Philippines, China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam), where rapid industrialization has increased the need and potential for applied research in this field.

Terahertz molecular science is the study of interactions of molecules and materials with terahertz waves. There is a need to establish an academic society and develop industrial applications in this field, especially in Asia, a region of rapid economic development. This project aims to integrate basic research in terahertz molecular science and its industrial applications, creating novel research through which Asia will lead this field.