The Project Research Center for Fundamental Sciences (PRC), affiliated with the Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, was founded in October 2011. Its purpose as an organization is the intensive, dynamic furtherance of advanced research projects led by the faculty of the Graduate School of Science in collaboration with academic fields both inside and outside the Graduate School of Science, in parallel with research and education in six major fields of study of the Graduate School of Science and two affiliated centers (the Research Center for Thermal and Entropic Science and the Center for Advanced High Magnetic Field Science). Its mission includes not only deepening individual disciplines but also discovering research directions that cannot be encompassed by existing categories and developing new foundational sciences leading to projects that can gain large-scale competitive funding. Moreover, the PRC is a venue for embodiment of value creation through “co-creation” in the fields of science, as espoused by Osaka University. The value of academic research cannot be assessed by a single measure alone. Important values include satisfaction of human curiosity and creation of intellectual culture, as well as finding solutions for the betterment of human society. The PRC pursues not only advances through research in existing fields, but also the development of both fundamental and academic research through intersection with applied and developmental research in other fields, including the humanities and social sciences. In this manner, the PRC uniquely identifies and achieves a broad set of social values.

The focus of the PRC in recent years has been industry-university co-creation rooted in fundamental science, marked by current engagement in joint research with various industries, including participation with JEOL YOKOGUSHI Research Alliance Laboratories and with the Yushiro Chemical Industry Polymer Gel Joint Research Chair. In particular, the Collaborative Unit for Mass Spectrometry Open Innovation initiated in March 2018 includes the participation of many researchers and multiple companies with a focus on foundational research in measurement techniques relating to mass spectrometry and developing groundbreaking innovations. The PRC also bears sole responsibility for foundational research in the Targeted α-Particle Radiotherapy Project currently in progress at the university, led by both the Institute for Radiation Sciences and the Quantum Innovation for Safe and Smart Society of Osaka University, and marks the presence of Osaka University and Graduate School of Science internally and externally by advancing the unparalleled spectrum of Osaka University research.

In co-creation, discussions begin at the level of identifying future tasks and goals and determining subject areas for research. To answer these questions, the PRC periodically holds the “Science Soundfest Forum,” where scientists assemble to debate and expand on the discussion, guided by the love of wisdom (philosophia) and the shared goal of generating new concepts and ideas. In this platform of emergent ideas and projects for the advancement of foundational and academic research, including social implementation, we welcome your participation and cooperation with the PRC in meeting challenges, forging ahead, and bringing us all to ever greater heights.

April 2020
　
Project Research Center for Fundamental Sciences
Director Tetsuo OGAWA