As an authority on elementary particle physics, Dr. Asai contributed immensely to the discovery of the Higgs boson, opening the path to research into the origins of the Universe. International research into the subject is underway at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) through experiments conducted with the world’s largest particle accelerator. Dr. Asai’s presentation spotlighted the fundamental question of “why the University was born from nothing” and presented the worldview that “emptiness plays the principal role in the creation of the Universe.” While adding the latest in research, Dr. Asai spoke of the state of the Universe before the Big Bang, the true nature of time and space, information and energy found in a vacuum and other ideas that can revolutionize existing concepts in physics. Most noteworthy was the idea that time and space themselves have a structure and that gravity is merely a manifestation of their distortion, as well as the modern interpretation that information and energy are encoded in matter and can exist as physical entities, drawing great interest from the audience. He also referred to Japan’s foremost neutrino observatory, the Super Kamiokande, and presented the possibility of research findings there upsetting accepted theories in elementary particle physics and opening the door to a new dimension in physics. He also talked about the applications of high-energy accelerators in the industrial sector including medical and radiation technologies, suggesting that “research that appears to be worthless at first glance holds the promise of commercialization in the long term” and emphasizing the importance of human resources in connecting basic research with industrial applications. Following his presentation, he responded to questions from the audience and said, “There are so many things we do not know yet. This lack of knowledge will lead to important academic disciplines in the future.” He stressed his expectations and the possibilities they present for the future, declaring that “the existence of contradictions is not a problem but is in fact an indicator that there is something new to find.”

Quantum dot research originated in the discovery of colored glass in the 19th century. Today, the field is principally divided into “optical control of nanocrystals,” which led to the development of fluorescent markers used in displays and cell observation, and “energy control of synthetic elements,” which led to quantum lasers and quantum computers. In the early 1980s, Dr. Arakawa became first in the world to introduce the concept of “quantum dots,” in which semiconductor electrons are sealed in 3D at nanometer scale. He was also the first to propose the application of quantum dots to lasers and has continued to be a leading authority since then, from basic research into quantum dots to industrial implementation of this field. In 2006, he founded the company QD Laser, Inc. for applications in optical communications and medical technology. The company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in 2021. Looking back at the history of quantum dot research, Dr. Arakawa said, “It took 40 years from the very first presentation of the thesis to the market listing. Still, deep tech startups continue to face challenges and require effective utilization of the government’s S&T budget for industrial implementation of their technologies.” In view of the dramatic increase in the communication capacities of CPUs and memory, spurred by the rapid spread of AI applications, attention is increasingly being directed to photonics-electronics technology, which combines electricity and light. Dr. Arakawa explained that the quantum dot serves as the basis of such technology and has prompted research in quantum computing, quantum communication and similar fields. In concluding his presentation, he said that he has “great expectations for further advancement, considering the continuing growth in the number of papers on quantum dots since its first publication until today.”

We human beings spend a third of our lives sleeping. Healthy sleep is essential for good health and productivity. However, there are fundamental questions that remain unanswered, such as: “Why do all animals sleep?” and “What exactly is sleepiness in the brain?” Dr. Yanagisawa says that sleep is one of the largest black boxes in neuroscience. He introduced cases that have been revealed with the progress of sleep research. He explained the adverse impact of sleep deprivation, including weakening of the amygdala’s control functions, which makes emotional control more difficult and increases the risk of dementia due to a rise in the accumulation of brain amyloid-β, believed to be one of the factors that causes Alzheimer’s disease. He also talked about the background to his research into orexin, whose role he discovered in sleep-wake regulation in 1998. He explained how orexin receptor antagonists used to treat insomnia disorders do not cause drug dependency or the apparent drunkenness observed with the use of conventional sleep drugs. In the final part of the lecture, he presented findings from InSomnograf, the home sleep electroencephalogram monitoring service he is currently promoting: 66% of people who felt they suffer from insomnia showed no objective detection of sleeplessness, while 45% of those who felt that they had sufficient sleep exactly lacked sleep. His comments that “personal awareness of the length and quality of sleep is often unreliable” brought surprised reactions from the audience.