TFC × TEL × RMC Collaborative Project: Sustainable Open Innovation Seminar
— AI for Science: Exploring the Frontiers of Society and Knowledge —
The First Seminar
Information
Date
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Venue
- TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity 3F, Lecture Theater, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University [Access]
- Online
Overview of the Seminar Series
In recent years, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has attracted significant attention as a powerful tool for addressing societal challenges. At the same time, it is rapidly becoming a foundational technology that is transforming the very nature of academic research itself, across diverse fields such as materials science, life sciences, linguistics, and space science.
The purpose of this seminar series is to reconsider AI as a “new foundation for scientific inquiry” that deepens our understanding of science. Specifically, the seminar will introduce cutting–edge research from three perspectives:
(1) AI research that aims to autonomously perform scientific reasoning,
(2) AI for science that accelerates simulation and analysis, and
(3) applied AI research that connects these advances to real–world problem solving, such as materials development and drug discovery.
Through interdisciplinary discussions, the series aims to illuminate the paradigm shifts enabled by AI and its potential contributions to a sustainable society. It will also explore how AI expands the ways researchers think, explore, and generate new knowledge.
First Seminar Overview
The first seminar will focus on research into AI itself, examining it from two perspectives: “language processing” and “generation.” Associate Professor Keisuke Sakaguchi of Tohoku University will present his research on natural language processing in AI, demonstrating the potential of AI as a foundation for deepening our understanding of human intelligence and communication. Hideyuki Tokuda's discussion on generative AI will showcase the dynamism of social implementation and value creation. Through this seminar, we aim to concretely illustrate “for whom” and “how“ AI functions, and to make it a starting point for cross–disciplinary dialogue and new co–creation.
Speakers
Keisuke Sakaguchi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University)
Hideyuki Tokuda (President, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology)
Registration
Registration deadline: Thursday, May 14, 2026 17:00 (JST)
Registration Form
Time Schedule
- Moderator: Michio Yoshiwaki (Tohoku University)
- 14:00 – 14:05
- Opening Remarks
- 14:05 – 14:45
- Keisuke Sakaguchi (Tohoku University)
- Mechanisms of AI and Future Perspectives
- 14:45 – 14:50
- Break
- 14:50 – 15:50
- Hideyuki Tokuda (NICT)
- Frontiers of AI Research and Development at NICT:
From Multilingual Speech Translation and Generative AI to AI Security
- 15:50 – 16:00
- Q&A
- 16:00
- Closing
Poster
- Download [PDF]
Hosted by
- Tokyo Electron Limited
- Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Organization for Research Promotion, Tohoku University
- Research Management Center (RMC), Organization for Research Promotion, Tohoku University
Organizers
Yuji Ogino (Tokyo Electron Limited)
Michio Yoshiwaki (Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Tohoku University)
Marc Hansen (Research Management Center, Tohoku University)
Ryo Sugawara (Research Management Center, Tohoku University)
Yoshihiko Kawasaki (Research Management Center, Tohoku University)
Yoshiaki Maeda (Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Tohoku University)
Contact
tfc_se*grp.tohoku.ac.jp (change * to @)