This year‘s Japanese-American-German Frontiers of Science Symposium brings together approx. 72 outstanding young researchers of various disciplines of natural sciences and social sciences from universities and other research institutions of the three countries to introduce their areas of research and technical work. They exchange ideas across disciplinary and methodological boundaries, build cross-disciplinary networks, and take the opportunity to work on future international collaborations.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supports such scientific cooperation between US and German as well as Japanese and German researchers with its special follow-up programme CONNECT which funds working visits in the partner countries for up to 30 days.
The Japanese-American-German symposia series is a joint undertaking of the National Academy of Sciences, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Participation is by invitation only.
List of Sessions
Evolution of Life on Earth – Where do we come from?
Planning Group Members: Falk Butter, INOUE Asuka, Monica Munoz-Torres
Introduction to the Session
"Origins of Life: Bridging Geochemistry and Biochemistry"
FUJISHIMA Kosuke, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Speakers:
"Serpentinization and the Origin of Life"
Katrina Twing, Weber State University
"An Experimental Window to the Past: Modeling the Early Steps of Life on Earth Using Molecular Fossils and Simulated Conditions"
Hannes Mutschler, TU Dortmund University
Artificial Photosynthesis – Solar Energy Conversion into Chemicals
Planning Group Members: Sarah King, NAKADA Akinobu, Anna Schenk
Introduction to the Session
Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Speakers:
"Converting sunlight into storable chemical fuels"
Johanna Eichhorn, Technical University of Munich
"Solar hydrogen production through photocatalytic water splitting"
HISATOMI Takashi, Shinshu University
Points of no return? Ice-Ocean-Land Interactions in the Past and Future Earth System
Planning Group Members: Falko Judt, NAKAYAMA Yoshihiro, Kira Rehfeld
Introduction to the Session
Marie-Luise Kapsch, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg
Speakers:
"High resolution modelling reveals powerful ocean-atmosphere interactions driving unprecedented environmental changes worldwide"
Pedro DiNezio, University of Colorado
"A key to understand the past: Proxy carrier “Foraminifera”, a behind-the-scenes contributor of climate research"
TAKAGI Haruka, The University of Tokyo
Foundation Models
Planning Group Members: Simina Branzei, Sebastian Fudickar, SUZUKI Taiji
Introduction to the Session
Zhiting Hu, University of California, San Diego
Speakers:
"Analyzing the Inner Workings of Foundation Models: Towards Insights, Transparency, and AI Safety"
Oliver Eberle, TU Berlin
"Privacy Preserving data-based Human State Estimation"
ISOGAWA Mariko, Keio University
Nuclear Fusion – The Future of Clean Energy?
Planning Group Members: Matthew Comstock, Benedikt Friess, SEKIGUCHI Yuichiro
Introduction to the Session
Athina Kappatou, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching
Speakers:
"Ignition in the Laboratory and Understanding Implications for Fusion Energy"
Daniel Casey, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
"Research towards particle control of the high-temperature plasma treated in nuclear fusion"
MOTOJIMA Gen, The National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS)
Conceptions of Place and Space: The Politics and Social Dynamics of Contemporary Place-making and Spatial Negotiation
Planning Group Members: Sandra Kurfürst, Nicholas Laluk, SHO Kojiro
Introduction to the Session
"Conflicts between place-making and spatial negotiation: Thinking from community gardens"
SHIMPO Naomi, University of Hyogo
Speakers:
"(New) Frontiers of Place and Space: Indigenous Cosmologies and the Social"
Vanessa Watts, McMaster University
"Representations of Place and Contestations of Space: Politics of Public Space and the European City of Berlin in New Germany"
Noa K. Ha, German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Berlin