Achievements of 21st COE Program

In our 21^st Century COE Program (Phase I), we collaborated with seven division/ department/ institute/ center within Osaka University undertaking research at a global level. We demonstrated remarkable education and research results received highly graded reputations from external parties. In other words, we have already established the foundations of an education and research Center in the field of materials science and engineering. Especially, our original programs to foster young researchers have been introduced on the homepage of JSPS as one of the admirable programs, and similar programs have since been adopted at other COEs, demonstrating that our COE has played a leading role. In addition, young researchers educated in our previous program have joined our Global COE as program representatives now. Research outcomes are well recognized internationally as published in top-class international journals such as "Science." Furthermore, based on concepts presented in our 21^st Century COE Program (Phase I), three departments in the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, which were involved in the COE program, were reorganized into one department. Center for Advanced Structural and Functional Materials Design Education and Research (a dedicated building) is being constructed at Osaka University as a venue for our COE's activities. In this way, we have undertaken systematic activities within Osaka University aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the University as a whole.