Tokyo Tech Opens New Materials Research Facility Genso Cube

On June 3, Tokyo Tech officially opened a new building nicknamed Genso Cube (genso meaning chemical element in Japanese) for the Materials Research Center for Element Strategy at Suzukakedai Campus. Genso Cube will enhance the Institute's materials research capabilities and will function as an open and global research hub for promoting academic and industry partnerships, international cooperation, and practical application.

The Materials Research Center for Element Strategy (MCES, Director: Professor Hideo Hosono, Materials and Structures Laboratory) was established in August 2012 as part of the Elements Science and Technology Project^* operated by the Japanese ministry. The center conducts research for the benefit of society through the creation of innovative materials from abundant substances such as pebbles and cement. Director Hosono has made many significant contributions in materials research, including development of the IGZO TFT, an oxide semiconductor ideal for driving LCD panels and organic electroluminescent displays, and an iron-based superconductor, a discovery which has contradicted conventional wisdom. Since October 2013, his research group has been working to create new electrides and develop a new method for ammonia synthesis under the program "Materials Science and Application of Electrides," the first project of the Japan Science and Technology Agency's new ACCEL initiative.

Genso Cube has five floors aboveground and one basement floor. The total floor area of the building is 4,515 m². The first floor is equipped with a lecture hall with a capacity of 129 people, as well as a space for open interaction. Space for joint research with industry partners and other external research institutions is located on the second floor. The third to fifth floors contain the laboratories of university researchers, with security maintained on each floor. The basement floor is equipped with a transmission electron microscope, an electron probe micro-analyzer, and other special facilities for experiments requiring high accuracy. As a gathering place for researchers, equipment experts, students, and other personnel, Genso Cube utilizes the strengths unique to an open academic environment to cultivate research professionals and make further strides in materials science research.

Overview of new building

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MEXT Elements Science and Technology Project (Core Research Center Formation) :
In response to a supply shortage for rare earth and other rare elements, this project was started in 2007 with the goal of developing innovative new materials which do not use rare elements. The project integrates all phases from functional design to creation of prototype materials utilizing advance physical/chemical theory. In 2012, the project was upgraded to the MEXT Elements Strategy Initiative to Form Core Research Center, gathering outstanding researchers to form cross-disciplinary joint research bases and research networks.

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