2025 Activity Report vol.23:Meijo University

Dr. Naik and his students from Dhempe College of Arts & Science (Goa, India) were invited to Tempaku Campus in Meijo University, Nagoya, for the Sakura Science Exchange Program, “International Joint Research on Nanomaterials for Environmental and Energy Solutions in India”, from December 17th to December 21st.

Prior to the visit, the online meetings were held on November 13 and 14. Prof. MARUYAMA Takahiro, the Director of the Nanomaterial Research Center at Meijo University, and Principal Ramu Murthy, Dr. Naik and the student participants in the program from Dhempe College attended this meeting. In addition to etiquette in Japan, Prof. MARUYAMA talked about the experimental equipment at Meijo University, and the student participants gave presentations about their samples. This online meeting was very effective in making their visit go smoothly.

In the afternoon of December 11th, Dr. Naik and his students arrived at Chubu International Airport. We held a Welcome Ceremony on the 12th, where Prof. NAKAMURA Tadashi, the Chairperson of the Department of Applied Chemistry, and Prof. MARUYAMA gave a welcome speech. On December 15, Prof. IIJIMA, the discoverer of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) gave a special lecture. He talked about the history of the discovery of CNTs and his current research. All participants listened to his talk with great interest.

From December 15, we started various experiments using equipment at Meijo University. By using many analysis techniques, we characterized the samples from Dhempe College. We also attempted to grow CNTs with the nanoparticles they synthesized in Goa by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. During the experiments, Dr. Naik and his students discussed the experimental data with Prof. MARUYAMA, and Japanese students at Meijo University supported those experiments dedicatedly.

Dr. Naik and his students also visited Aichi Synchrotron Center (Aichi SR, Seto City) to see the advanced analysis technique. At Aichi SR, after a brief overview of synchrotron by the Director of Aichi SR, they visited the beamlines in the facility.

During their stay, we held an opinion exchange meeting and a poster session to deepen exchanges between the participants from Dhempe College and Japanese students from Meijo University. The meeting was held in the Indian Restaurant near Tempaku Campus. It was very exciting, and both Indian and Japanese students enjoyed Indian food. In the poster session, students from laboratories in the Department of Applied Chemistry gave poster presentations. The students from Dhempe College diligently asked many questions for the presenters.

During the program, they also visited the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology in Nagoya to understand more deeply the industry in Japan. They had a look around at the development of textile machinery and automotive technology in Japan, which has representative industries in the Tokai area. Furthermore, a Japanese calligraphy class was held under a Master Instructor. Students from Dhempe College wrote various “kanji (Chinese characters)” that they chose. It was a very enjoyable time to experience Japanese culture

On December 20th, we held a Results Presentation and a Completion Ceremony, and the certificates were awarded to Dr. Naik and his students. They expressed their gratitude for this program and felt that this visit was fruitful for their research. Also, they said that the Japanese traffic system is very impressive and that they want to visit Japan again. This December was relatively warm, and they seemed to be comfortable during their stay.