Activity Report of Open Application Program 2024 vol.1 (Course A)
Japan-China research exchange on artificial olfactory sensor materials and systems
Report from Hokkaido University
Artificial olfactory sensors, which use hundreds of thousands of volatile molecules found in nature as information source, have been attracting attention in recent years as a sensor technology to collect chemical information of "smell" that has not been used so far. In this exchange program, we invited one faculty member and six graduate students from the Graduate School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), which has strengths in system design, module implementation technology, and machine learning, to the Institute of Electronic Science, Hokkaido University (HU) for seven days from August 4 to 10, 2024, to conduct a research collaboration on circuit implementation of artificial olfactory sensor materials.
On the first day of their visit, they met with laboratory members, and we introduced their research facilities and discussed the details of experimental plan during this visit. On the second day, an ECUST-HU joint workshop was held, where young researchers and graduate students from both Hokkaido University and East China University of Science and Technology introduced their research. In the workshop, the Hokkaido University side presented research based on chemistry, including synthesis and design methods for nanomaterials and functional devices, and the East China University of Technology side presented research on circuit design, circuit implementation of molecular recognition sensors, and data analysis using machine learning. The workshop attracted a great deal of interest and praise, and in-depth discussions on research topics were held, far exceeding the original schedule.
From the third day, the participants worked together as a team on sensor devices and circuit implementation of nanomaterials as planned in the exchange program, and also evaluated the molecular adsorption states of nanomaterials brought by the invitees using a high-sensitivity infrared spectrometer owned by host laboratory. The Japanese students seemed to be stimulated by the high motivation of the ECUST members, who tried to produce as many experimental results as possible in the limited time available
Although the students from both universities seemed awkward on the first day of the program, their interaction deepened day by day through joint work, and they naturally conversed with each other even outside of the experiment time. On the final day of the program, the team successfully completed their planned experiments and the ECUST members received certificates of completion from their hosts. 7 days was a short program, but it was a valuable experience for students at both universities and a valuable research collaboration that will lead to the continuation of joint research between the researchers. Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the people involved in the JST Sakura Science Program and the university administration for their support in conducting this exchange program.
[Contact information]
Kazuki Nagashima, Professor of Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University
Nagashima<at>es.hokudai.ac.jp (Please replace<at> with @, the at symbol)