JXTG : Construction of New Research Center at Tohoku University Begins with Blessing Ceremony

Ahead of work beginning on a building project at Tohoku University, a ceremonial blessing - a custom in Japan - was held on August 7, to pray for the safety of those involved in the construction. The event was followed by a reception party at a hotel in downtown Sendai.

The building project is part of the Mutual Collaboration and Cooperation Agreement signed between the National University Corporation Tohoku University (Tohoku University) and JX Nippon Mining & Metal Corporation (JX Nippon) on September 5, 2018. The agreement will see collaborations leveraging the strengths of JX Nippon, as a non-ferrous metals industry leader, and Tohoku University, a leading academic institution renowned for its materials science research.

The new building - tentatively named the Tohoku University Innovative Materials Creation Center - is being constructed at the new extension of Aobayama Campus. When it is completed, JX Nippon will donate it to the university in the spirit of developing human resources and stimulating research in the non-ferrous metal industry, in areas such as 'Interconnect Advanced technology (ICAT).'

The building is expected to grow into an international center for excellence in innovation within the field of materials science. Furthermore, it is hoped that domestic and international companies, research institutes, startups and researchers - including those at Tohoku University - will gather and find inspiration there.

Approximately 60 people attended the ceremony and reception. They included senior officials from Tohoku University and JX Nippon, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the local governments of Miyagi prefecture and Sendai city, as well as sponsors and supporting organizations.

'We highly expect innovative technologies to be created from the new research building in the field of leading-edge materials, which will ultimately support an advanced information society,' said JX Nippon's Executive Chairman Shigeru Oi at the reception.

President of Tohoku University Hideo Ohno echoed the sentiment, adding that the building 'will go towards the development of an international, open innovation center in the field of materials science related to the non-ferrous metals industry.'

Construction of the research building is scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2020.

LINK: https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/university_news/jxmetals_research_center.html

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