Projects Funded by Tohoku University and University College London Matching Fund 2025
Several research projects have been approved for funding through the 2025 Tohoku University-University College London (UCL) Matching Fund. This initiative aims to support eight collaborative projects beginning in April 2025, following a partnership agreement designed to enhance joint research between the two institutions.
Since the initial project call in June 2019, multiple funding rounds have occurred, resulting in 13 applications in the most recent round. The selected interdisciplinary projects cover a diverse range of topics and are led by faculty from both universities. The approved projects include the following:
The intelligent workplace: human and cyber workplace interaction in hybrid and liquid environments
Research Areas: Space/Architecture, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Artificial Intelligence (AI)
UCL Lead: Professor Ava Fatah (Bartlett)
Tohoku University Lead: Dr. Kazuyuki Fujita (Research Institute of Electrical Communication)
Exploring innovative spintronic systems for enhanced reservoir computing in artificial intelligence applications
Research Areas: AI, Neuromorphic Computing, Spintronics, Material Science
UCL Lead: Professor Hidekazu Kurebayashi (Mathematics & Physical Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Dr. Aakanksha Sud (Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences)
Reading from body motion: the role of culture and expertise in the performing arts for emotion recognition and expression
Research Areas: Social Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Science of the Performing Arts
UCL Lead: Associate Professor Guido Orgs (Brain Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Associate Professor Chia-huei Tseng (Research Institute of Electrical Communication)
Examining the neuro-cognitive representations of disaster-related vocabulary in a foreign language
Research Areas: Education, Disaster Science, Neuroscience
UCL Lead: Dr. Ana Pellicer-Sanchez (Institute of Education)
Tohoku University Lead: Dr. Takumi Uchihara (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies)
Integrating tradition and innovation: enhancing disaster recovery and community resilience through cultural heritage and social innovation in Japan
Research Areas: Disaster Science, Community Resilience, Social Innovation
UCL Lead: Professor Davide Ravasi (Engineering Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Specially Appointed Associate Professor Mika Sakai (Head Office of Enterprise Partnerships, Startup Incubation Center)
Application of AI technology for mapping of high-resolution surface water storage using earth observation satellite data via Google Earth Engine (AI-WATER)
Research Areas: AI, Disaster Science
UCL Lead: Professor Mohammad Shamsudduha (Mathematics & Physical Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Professor Daisuke Sano (Graduate School of Engineering)
Assessment of liquefaction and its effects on infrastructures at the Noto Peninsula in Japan through machine learning techniques
Research Areas: Geotechnical Engineering, Earthquake Engineering, Disaster Engineering, Machine Learning
UCL Lead: Dr. Susana Lopez-Querol (Engineering Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Dr. Anawat Suppasri (International Research Institute of Disaster Science)
Validation and enhancement of AI-based systemic disease detection with retinal imaging from Asian cohorts at Tohoku University
Research Areas: Ophthalmology, AI
UCL Lead: Professor Pearse Keane (Brain Sciences)
Tohoku University Lead: Professor Toru Nakazawa (Graduate School of Medicine)
These projects are intended to promote innovation through collaborative research, thereby expanding the impact of both Tohoku University and UCL in various scientific domains.
(Source: Tohoku University)
