Cross-coupling reactions, which are indispensable in efficient synthesis of pharmaceutical products and organic electronic materials, along with other materials, have currently become absolutely necessary technology in an wide variety of industrial fields. This is a technial field in which Japan excels, and it’s become common knowledge that of the 3 recipients of the Nobel Prize given in 2010 for research done in this field, 2 were Japanese. Distinguished Professor Masahiro MIURA’s group continues to perform research which will open new frontiers in cross-coupling reactions. In 2012, Professor Miura received the Research Front Award from Thomson Reuters, which is awarded to those researchers who act as leaders in advanced research, and became an Osaka University Distinguished Professor in 2014. ＊Cross-coupling reaction: a chemical reaction which combines two molecules of differing structures into one molecule

Utilizing plant biomass, Hitz(Bio)Research Alliance Laboratory is making efforts, from research and development to commercialization, to develop functional materials that are both people-friendly and eco-friendly. Based on OU’s Business-Academia Collaboration system, the laboratory was established by Hitachi Zosen in October of 2012 inside of Osaka University. Under the cathphrase of “Industry on Campus,” this laboratory has gone beyond the traditional borders of business and university and made efforts in research from its basic stages to application. We covered this unique collaborative research center that can’t be found in order national universities.

Immunology researchers all over the world refer to Osaka University as one of the leading research university of immunology. What are the roots of immunology research at Osaka University? Why is immunology research conducted so actively there? To get the answer, we have to look all the way back to Ogata Koan’s Tekijuku, the origin of Osaka University. Koan established Joto-kan to prevent small pox and eradicate infectious diseases such as cholera. With the help of Koan’s second son Koreyoshi, in 1869, Tekijuku students establhed Osaka Temporary Hosrital. Later it became the Osaka Prefecture Medical School and then the Osaka Medical College thanks to a great contribution by SATA Aihiko, head of both schools. We asked Professor Atsushi KUMANOGOH at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Rheumatic Disease, an aspiring researcher who received many prizes for his contributions to immunology research, to speak with us.

Our brains “see” the complicated and ever-changing 3D information of the outside world with no problems. In order to solve the mysteries of the function that is “sight,” Professor Ichiro FUJITA and his research team have been performing collaborative research with a research team led by Sonja Grün, a professor at Aachen University in Germany, who is currently researching theoretical brain science at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Forschungzsentrum. Their research theme is “Neural mechanism of active vision studied by combining large-scale sampling of neurral activity and advanced computational analysis.”

“I want to turn Osaka University into a global hub for Asia-Pacific research.” Professor Yoneyuki SUGITA wants to create an environment at Osaka University which gathers active Asia-Pacific research experts from around the globe to deliver new knowledge all over the world. As a part of this endeavor, in 2014 the International Joint Research Promotion Program entitled “Peace and Stability in the Asia-Pacific Region: Multi-layered Analysis toward Formation of International Code of Conduct and Norm” was started, with Professor Sugita as a representative of the program. In addition to social sciences such as government, economics, and history, experts from field of medicine also participate in this program, further expanding this fusion research activity.