On Thursday, April 16th, 2026, the Institute of Photonics and Human Health Frontier: IPHF and the Institute of Post-LED Photonics: pLED of Tokushima University held a joint workshop on photonics research with National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, Taiwan's national academy, on Josanjima Campus. Approximately 60 people including students and researchers from Tokushima University, participated in the workshop held at the Future Center A.BA.
Tokushima University is working to strengthen its research capabilities with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Program for Forming Japan's Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS)". Tokushima University has established IPHF as a research base for realizing the J-PEAKS vision and currently has 22 researchers affiliated with it in four areas: "Optical Engineering," "Chronic Inflammation Research," "Nutrition," and "Information Science." This workshop was held with the aim of strengthening and developing collaboration with National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica in the field of "Optical Engineering."
Five researchers from National Taiwan University, including Professor Yuan Luo and Professor Yu-Jung Lu, visited Tokushima University. The exchange began in March 2023 when Professor Lu was invited to speak at the pLED kickoff international symposium, and the continued collaboration between Professor Yasui Takeshi and Professor Yano Takaaki, IS-PIs (Investigation Directors) of IPHF, led to the holding of this joint workshop.
In the opening remarks, Executive Vice President Matsuki Hitoshi, Executive Director for Research and CEO of IPHF, stated, "I hope that today's workshop will further strengthen the relationship between the two universities through the exchange of diverse opinions from different perspectives, and lead to the creation of new collaborative research initiatives for the next generation." Following this, Professor Luo, representing Taiwan, introduced that National Taiwan University has approximately 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and that the total area of its four campuses spread throughout Taiwan accounts for about 1% of the country's land area. He also mentioned that the university has a top-level track record in the field of optical engineering research in Asia.
Following lunch, presentations were given by a total of 10 researchers across four sessions. Each session was chaired by a faculty member from Tokushima University, and lively question-and-answer sessions followed the presentations.
At the closing remarks, Professor Furube Akihiro expressed his gratitude for the valuable insights gained, reaffirming the broad possibilities of photon science research.
The following day, a lab tour was conducted. Through these two days of face-to-face interaction, mutual understanding of research and challenges deepened, making it a meaningful opportunity to strengthen collaboration for future joint research and talent development.
Prof. Yuan Luo of National Taiwan University (center)
Prof. Yu-Jung Lu of National Taiwan University (right)
Lunch time
Workshop
Commemorative photo of participants of the workshop
