PROSPECTUS2023-2024

9/36

ogy in one research institute which is pretty rare.Excellent researcher“An important first step for the key of metal materials in the next generation”08A research paper written by Professor ARAKAWA Kazuto, Vice Director of NEXTA, was published in Nature Materials in January 2020. The journal is one of the most influential publications in the materials field, and the news was reported by the national and interna-tional media. In his research, Professor ARAKAWA observed for the first time in the world that defects in a metal at low temperatures behave in a mysterious manner called “quantum diffusion”, by using a trans-mission electron microscopy that can examine samples at the atomic level. These results can open a new window to improve steel materials with low temperatures, and is expected to be useful for the development of materials that produce a large number of defects, such as materials for fusion reactors, which will be a future energy source.Cutting-edge equipment that support world-leading researchIn order to realize world-leading research, various kinds of equipment that are specialized and very unique have been implemented at NEXTA. The workstation conducts an enormous amount of calculations and simulations based on Physics and Mathematical Science, the state-of-the-art transmission electron microscope which is to observe the deformation process of amor-phous foil to be materials for the high-efficiency amorphous motor core, and also the Electro-Thermal Mechanical Testing (ETMT) which can perform in-situ observation while conducting a tensile test or fatigue test with the test piece that heated with high tempera-ture by electricity in order to observe heat-resistant alloys which can be used as the material for jet engine parts are one of them.How to participate in the research at NEXTAThe students who studied at the Faculty of Materials for Energy and a certain part of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Science and Engineering can participate in the research at NEXTA by selecting the research theme related to the metal material field and entering the labo-ratories of the professors who belong to NEXTA when they are in the second half of the 3rd year. The students will be able to be involved in joint research with compa-nies and other universities. In addition, the selected students will be sent to the University of Oxford and will be able to have some opportunities for research collab-oration activities with the researchers at the University of Oxford.