Information
Imagine your daily life: smartphones in your hand, cars on the road – they're made up of many machines like motors and switches. Also, your body is full of even tinier, invisible machines! They are constantly moving, spinning, and pulling things, keeping you alive and well. Scientists have been fascinated by these natural machines, and have managed to build their own super–small molecular machines! These are so tiny that you cannot see them under an optical microscope. They're only about a nanometer size (a billionth of a meter!). Even though they're very very small, their potential is infinite!
In this public lecture, “Feringa Lecture,” we are honored to welcome Prof. Ben L. Feringa, a leading authority in the field of molecular machines and a Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 2016. He will introduce his cutting–edge research on light–driven molecular motors. Prof. Feringa's lecture will be simultaneously interpreted into Japanese, and there will also be an introductory lecture on molecular machines. This event is open to everyone, including junior high and high school students. Let's think about the tiny world around us and imagine a bright future together!
Date
Saturday, September 6, 2025 14:00 – 16:30 (JST) (Opening: 13:00)
Venue
Aobayama Commons, Aobayama New Campus, Tohoku University [Access]
Capacity
500
Invited Speakers
Ben L. Feringa (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2016, Professor, Groningen University)
Nagatoshi Koumura (Team Leader, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)
Registration
On–site registration will be accepted, but advance registration is highly encouraged to facilitate our preparations. (Participation is free of charge.)
Registration deadline: Sunday, August 31, 2025, 12:00 (JST)
Registration Form
Time Schedule
- 14:00 – 14:10
- Opening Remarks
- Teiji Tominaga (President, Tohoku University)
- Ryojun Toyoda (Assistant Professor, Tohoku University)
- 14:10 – 14:40
- Nagatoshi Koumura (Team Leader, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)
- Introduction to the world of molecular machines
- 14:40 – 15:50
- Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2016
Ben L. Feringa (Professor, Groningen University) - The Art of Building Small
- 15:55 – 16:25
- Q&A Session
- 16:25 – 16:30
- Closing Remarks
Poster
- Download [PDF]
Co–hosted by
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
- International Joint Graduate Program in Integrated Chemistry
In cooperation with
- Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
- Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association (SenTIA)
- Transformative Research Areas (A) “Materials Science of Meso–Hierarchy”
- Transformative Research Areas (A) “Chiral Optical Materials Science”
Contact
Ryojun Toyoda (Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University)
Email: ryojun.toyoda.a8★tohoku.ac.jp (change ★ to @)