On August 20, Neumorph Center received a visit from faculty members and students of Tianjin University, marking their second visit following last year. During the visit, Center Director Prof. Hirofumi Tanaka gave a presentation on the Center’s research content and progress. In addition to an exhibition of research achievements, an introduction to the facility of Nerumorph Center “Fancγ” and a robot demonstration were also conducted. Active discussions were held between the Center members and the Tianjin University delegation, making it a meaningful opportunity to deepen mutual research exchange.
“Materials Engineering × AI”: Pioneering the Future Toward Robots with Human-like Intelligence
An interview article with Center Director Professor Hirofumi Tanaka (Department of Human Intelligence Systems, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology) was published in the Yomiuri Shimbun (Miyazaki edition) on May 14, 2025.
This article is structured as a dialogue project for junior and senior high school students, and introduces Professor Tanaka’s pioneering work on developing intelligent haptic sensors through the “fusion of materials engineering and AI,” future prospects, and an encouraging message to the younger generation in Miyazaki profecture.
On November 14th and 15th, 2024, our center organized a session titled “Neuromorphic AI Models, Materials, Circuits, and Applications” at the 12th Kyushu Institute of Technology/University Putra Malaysia International Joint Symposium: International Symposium on Applied Engineering and Sciences (SAES2024), which was successfully completed.
SAES is a symposium organized annually by Kyushu Institute of Technology and Universiti Putra Malaysia since 2013. It provides a forum for research presentations and exchanges of ideas in the fields of applied engineering and science, and serves as a platform for participants to share their latest research results and experiences.
The organized session was planned by Associate Professor Yuichiro Tanaka, a member of the Center, and included discussions on the theories, materials, circuits, and applications of neuromorphic AI hardware. The session featured research presentations on a wide range of fields, including synapse control in neuromorphic devices using nanomaterials, neural network hardware using optical systems, multitask learning using Gaussian processes, improving the performance of reservoir computing, and robotics using tensegrity structures. There was lively discussion about energy-efficient AI technology, and it was a meaningful opportunity for participants to share new perspectives and knowledge.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who participated in the organized sessions and to everyone who helped plan and manage the sessions.
On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, an unveiling ceremony was held at Kyushu Institute of Technology’s Wakamatsu Campus for the Neumorph Center’s new facility, “Fancγ (Fancy).” This event was part of a press conference with the university president.
During the press conference, Professor Hirofumi Tanaka, the Director of the Neumorph Center, introduced the background of the center’s establishment and highlighted its achievements to date. Following this, Kosei Isomoto (a second-year master’s student in the Tamukai Lab) and Yusuke Nakaoka (a first-year doctoral student in the Tanaka Lab) presented the activities of startups that have spun out from the center’s research efforts, sparking numerous questions from attending journalists.
At the end of the conference, a tour of “Fancγ” was conducted. Professors Keitaro Ito, Naoto Ishizuka, and Tomomi Sudo from the university’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who were responsible for the room’s design and construction, explained its concept and design. Associate Professor Yuichiro Tanaka from the Neumorph Center also explained the origin of the name “Fancγ.” Additionally, a robot demonstration led by Associate Director Professor Hakaru Tamukoh and lab students drew significant attention from the attendees.
Scene from the venueProfessor Hirofumi Tanaka, Director of the CenterProfessor Hakaru Tamukoh, Associate Director of the Center
田向研究室所属の磯本航世さん （博士前期課程2年）田中研究室所属の中岡佑輔さん （博士後期課程1年）Professor Keitaro Ito, Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAssociate Professor Yuichiro Tanaka, Neumorph CenterRobot demonstrationRobot demonstration
Neumorph Center welcomed faculty and students from the Tianjin University delegation on July 17. Center Director Prof. Hirofumi Tanaka presented research topics and progress during the visit. The center also displayed its research achievements, sparking engaging discussions between its members and the visiting scholars and students.
On Friday, June 28, 2024, at 10:30 AM, we held the Neumorph Seminar. The seminar featured a lecture by Professor Johan Åkerman from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, on “Ising Machines Based on Spin Waves, Acoustic Waves, and Spin Hall Nano-oscillators.”
On June 19th, 2024 (Wednesday) at 10:30 am, we held a Neumorph Seminar. At this seminar, Dr. Shigeki Sakai (Visiting Professor at the Neumorph Center) from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) gave a lecture on simulation models for ferroelectric field effect transistors.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Shigeki Sakai from AIST will give a Neumorph Seminar on June 19, 2024, at 10:30 AM. We look forward to your participation.
Dr. Xu Zhen was promoted to Assistant Professor at the Neuromorphic AI Hardware Research Center, effective May 1, 2024.
After obtaining her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 2023, Dr. Xu joined the center as a postdoctoral researcher and contributed to the development of energy-efficient neuromorphic chips for AI applications.
As an Assistant Professor, she will utilize her expertise in materials, nanoelectronics, and programming to explore advanced materials and device architectures inspired by the brain’s computational systems. She will drive cutting-edge research in neuromorphic hardware design at the center.
Dr. Xu’s comment: “I am delighted to continue groundbreaking research as a faculty member of this center.”
The paper entitled “In-Materio Reservoir Computing in a Sulfonated Polyaniline Network,” authored by Assistant Prof. Usami et al., published in Advanced Material was awarded by the Japan Society of Applied Physics.
