Tokyo Tech - RWTH Aachen University joint workshop on Interfaces of Biological and Bio-inspired Materials for Future BioDevices

Tokyo Tech's School of Materials and Chemical Technology and RWTH Aachen University (RWTH Aachen) hosted a workshop titled "Interfaces of Biological and Bio-inspired Materials for Future BioDevices 2022" on February 9, 2023 in high-flex format.

Due to the nature of the overall theme, the event was attended not only by participants from various academies and research institutes at Tokyo Tech, but also faculty and staff of Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), and included a presentation by a TMDU researcher.

Professor Hidetoshi Sekiguchi, dean of the School of Materials and Chemical Technology at Tokyo Tech, opened the workshop by introducing the history of cooperation and active faculty and school-level student exchange between Tokyo Tech and RWTH Aachen. He also spoke about the newly established Doctoral Students Exchange Program between Tokyo Tech's School of Materials and Chemical Technology and RWTH Aachen's Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, and expressed his wishes for further cooperation in the future.

Professor Sven Ingebrandt, director of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen, also gave an introduction of the German university and the faculty under his supervision. He then gave a talk about "Biosensor concepts based on silicon field-effect transistor devices," which was followed by presentations by 12 other researchers who engaged in lively discussions throughout the event.

In the afternoon session, TMDU Professor Yuji Miyahara spoke about "Detection of biomolecular recognition and cell function using bio-transistors." Towards the end of the session, Professor Ji Shi, chair of the School of Materials and Chemical Technology international committee at Tokyo Tech, gave a concrete introduction to the Doctoral Students Exchange Program. This was followed by presentations by alumni and current students of the School of Materials and Chemical Technology who had studied at RWTH Aachen in the past.

The workshop ended with a speech by Professor Yoshitaka Kitamoto, associate dean of the School of Materials and Chemical Technology at Tokyo Tech, who expressed his hope for further development of the two institutions, and invited the students to participate in the poster presentation after the workshop.

After the workshop, four students from RWTH Aachen, 18 students from Tokyo Tech's School of Materials and Chemical Technology, and a special guest — Professor Takaaki Yano of the University of Tokushima — gave poster presentations. This provided a valuable opportunity for students to present their research in a practical manner to overseas researchers. During the poster presentation session, Tokyo Tech President Kazuya Masu was also present to congratulate and expressed his gratitude to the participants and sponsors.