TANAKA Memorial Foundation Announces Recipients of Precious Metals Research Grants
TOKYO, Mar 31, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – The TANAKA Memorial Foundation’s Representative Director, Hideya Okamoto, announced the recipients of the FY2020 Precious Metals Research Grants.Following a rigorous screening process, the Gold Awards, each for 2 million yen, were presented to Professor Yasushi Sekine and Professor Hideyuki Murakami, both of Waseda University. In addition, three research projects received Silver Awards, and four Young Researcher Awards were presented.The TANAKA Memorial Foundation undertakes programs designed to foster developments in new precious metal fields while contributing to the advancement of science, technology, and socio-economics for the overall enrichment of society. The research grant program was launched in FY1999 and has continued each year since with the goal of supporting the various challenges of the “new world opened up by precious metals.” This year, the program’s 22nd year, a total of 171 applications were received in a wide range of fields where precious metals can make contributions to the research and development of new technologies. A total of 16.1 million yen in research grants was awarded for 26 projects.The names of the two Gold Award recipients, their research, and the reasons for their selection are below.- Professor Yasushi Sekine, Waseda UniversityDevelopment and application of precious metal catalytic reactions with unconventional low-temperature action using surface protonicsThis research seeks to develop solid catalyst reactions at low temperatures (from room temperature to 200 degrees) using surface protonics. This research and development was highly rated for its potential contributions to the SDGs and ESG investment as well as its ability to make major contributions to the government’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.- Professor Hideyuki Murakami, Waseda UniversityDevelopment of oxidation resistant Ir-based high-entropy alloyThis research seeks to develop high-entropy alloys, a new category of metal materials that are currently the focus of significant attention, using an iridium (Ir) based alloy to create a material with excellent high-temperature characteristics and oxidation resistance. This research was highly rated because it may lead to a solution to the problem of Ir depletion at high temperatures in the range of 1,000 degrees Celsius and may improve ductility, which is an issue for Ir alloys.Three Silver Awards, four Young Researcher Awards, and 17 Encouragement Awards were also granted. The recipients and an overview of the Precious Metals Research Grants are indicated below. Applications for the FY2021 research granted are scheduled to open in the fall.List of FY2020 Precious Metals Research Grants Recipients- Platinum Award (0 award, 5 million yen)Non granted- Gold Award (2 awards, 2 million yen each)Yasushi Sekine, Professor, Waseda UniversityDevelopment and application of precious metal catalytic reactions with unconventional low-temperature action using surface protonicsHideyuki Murakami, Professor, Waseda UniversityDevelopment of oxidation resistant Ir-based high-entropy alloy- Silver Awards (3 awards, 1 million yen each)Ryuji Tamura, Professor, Tokyo University of SciencePrecious metal hyper-materialsMasahito Inagaki, Researcher, Nagoya UniversityDevelopment of nucleic acid cutting technology using silver nano-particles and pharmaceutical development applicationsTatsuya Oshima, Professor, University of MiyazakiSearch for and discovery of optimal ion solvation extraction agent for gold extraction and separation processes- Young Researcher Awards (4 awards, 1 million yen each)Noriyuki Uchida, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and TechnologyPhotonic precious metal crystal sensors made primarily from waterYuki Ueda, Researcher, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyDevelopment of precious metal element separation and recovery processes using the hydrophobicity of fluorous solventsRajashekar Badam, Senior Lecturer, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and TechnologyIrO2-based organic-inorganic hybrid catalyst with strong metal-base interaction with efficient oxygen generation catalytic activity suitable for water decompositionYohei Ishida, Assistant Professor, Hokkaido UniversitySelf-synthesis of multi-element alloy clusters using nano-chemical reaction fields- Encouragement Award (17 awards, 300,000 yen each)Shunsuke Shiba, Assistant Professor, EHIME UniversityTakayuki Iseki, Specially Appointed Prof., Osaka UniversityChen Chuantong, Associate Professor, Osaka UniversityKohsuke Mori, Associate Professor, Osaka University Hiromi Yuasa, Professor, Kyushu UniversityYoshikazu Hirai, Assistant Professor, Kyoto UniversityKen-ichi Fujita, Professor, Kyoto UniversityRyo Kasuya, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyMasahiro Aoyama, Assistant Professor, Shizuoka UniversityDaisuke Nagai, Associate Professor, University of ShizuokaTakanari Ouchi, Research Associate, The University of TokyoTakuto Soma, Assistant Professor, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyKohei Fujiwara, Associate Professor, Tohoku UniversityAtsushi Satsuma, Professor, Nagoya UniversityNaoki Ishimatsu, Assistant Professor, Hiroshima UniversityTakuya Yamamoto, Associate Professor, Hokkaido UniversityYoshiaki Nishijima, Associate Professor, YOKOHAMA National UniversityOverview of the 2020 Precious Metals Research GrantsConditions:Research content that falls under any of the following- New technology related to precious metals- Research and development related to precious metals that bring about innovative evolution in products- Research and development of new products using precious metals*Precious metal refers to eight elements of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.*If development is conducted jointly (or planned to be) with other material manufacturers, please indicate so.*Products that have already been commercialized, put to practical use, or that are planned are not eligible.Grant Amounts:- Platinum Award: 5 million yen (1 award)- Gold Award: 2 million yen (1 award)- Silver Awards: 1 million yen (4 awards)- Young Researcher Awards: 1 million yen (2 awards)- Encouragement Award: 300,000 yen (several awards)*The grant amount is treated as a scholarship donation.*Awards may not be granted in some cases.*The number of awards is subject to change.Eligible Candidates:- Personnel who belong to (or work for) educational institutions in Japan (universities, graduate schools, or technical colleges) or public and related research institutions may participate.*As long as the applicant is affiliated with a research institution in Japan, the base of activity can be in Japan or overseas.*The Young Researcher Awards are for researchers under the age of 37 as of April 1, 2020.Application Period:- 9am, September 1, 2020 (Tue) – 5pm, November 30, 2020 (Mon)Inquiries Concerning the Research Grant Program:Precious Metals Research Grants OfficeMarketing Department, TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.22F Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6422TEL: 03-6311-5596 FAX: 03-6311-5529 E-mail: joseikin@ml.tanaka.co.jpTANAKA Memorial Foundation website: https://tanaka-foundation.or.jpPress release in PDF: http://www.acnnewswire.com/pdf/files/20210331_EN.pdfTANAKA Memorial FoundationEstablished: April 1, 2015Address: 22F Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, TokyoRepresentative: Hideya Okamoto (Senior Advisor to TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd.)Purpose of Business: To provide grants for research related to precious metals to contribute to the development and cultivation of new fields for precious metals, and to the development of science, technology, and the social economy.Areas of Business: – Provision of grants for scientific and technological research related to precious metals.- Recognition of excellent analysis of precious metals and holding of seminars and other events.TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.Headquarters: 22F, Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, TokyoRepresentative: Koichiro Tanaka, Representative Director & CEOFounded: 1885Incorporated: 1918Capital: 500 million yenEmployees: 2,393 (as of March 31, 2020)Sales: JPY 992,679,879,000 (FY2019)Main businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products. URL: https://tanaka-preciousmetals.comPress InquiriesTANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd.https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-for-media/ Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com
Read More
