Program Overview

1. Introduction

Protein molecules with biofunctions (movement, information transmission, etc.) are self-organizing systems created from multiple components further consisting of 20 amino acids. DNA, which encode genetic information, is also a multi-component system composed of 4 nucleic acid bases. Proteins and DNA are both inanimate “materials”. We believe that biofunction is an essential phase in self-organizing systems when multi-component materials exchange energy and information spatiotemporally. What are the common features between proteins / DNA and carbon nano-tube / high-temperature superconductors? And in hierarchical structures between living organisms and space? What physical languages describe these? We consider living organisms, materials and space to be “self-organizing systems”. Our goal is to seek a novel viewpoint toward 21st century physics in self-organizing systems, including living organisms, and pass on our concepts to younger generations who are eager to study physics.




2. Research objectives

(1) To create new functions by a theoretical construct that guides control of self-organization through precise measurements of
self-organizing systems that appear in living organisms, materials and space.
(2) To explore a new physics of self-organizing systems encompassing living organisms, materials and space, and propagate for
worldwide consideration.
(3) To train world class young researchers who have both scientific intellection and engineering sense.

There is no first-principles theory that describes self-organizing systems. Few useful clues can be found in current physics. Complete
clarification of biomolecular accumulation mechanisms as a nonequilibrium system, or the heterogeneity of superconducting materials
is Nobel prize-level challenge. We intend to meet this challenge head on. We perform robust and quantitative theoretical analyses with
highly precise measurements, instead of applying resources to eccentric new concepts that resemble ideology more than science.
We strive to be one of the top institutions researching self-organization physics in the world, with the goal of becoming the premier
institution within 5 years. All the while we are accumulating robust research results that will benefit future generations.


3. Expected results

(1) Elucidation of functional expression and accumulation mechanisms in biofunctional molecules.
*Elucidation of functional expression mechanisms of proteins, including molecular motors.
*Establish single-molecule imaging to elucidate cellular function.

(2) Design and synthesis of functional materials using self-organizing phenomena of electrons, atoms and molecules.
*Develop super high-luminance electron beams by surface control.
*Design thermoelectric, piezoelectric and dielectric materials by self-organizing nanostructure control.

(3) Theoretical understanding of self-organizing systems.
*We will expand, step by step, conventional analytical methods for many-body systems (Green’s function, renormalization group, dynamic mean field, etc.) via quantitative assessment of measurements to accumulate results that will benefit future generations, and to progress the physics of self-organizing systems to an exact science.

(4) Report results of collaborative research among different academic fields.
*More than 10 collaborative research reports and fundamental patents per year.

(5) Reinforce the second semester doctoral course.
*Increase the number of students in the second semester doctoral course and degree graduates, and encourage competition within the University.
*Form international networks with foreign research and educational institutions.


4. Social context

This proposal presents our purpose to establish physics that describes and manipulates self-organizing systems. It challenges the reductionism of the 20th century (represented by theories that elucidation of the properties of a small number of fundamental particles can reveal the whole). The 21st century may be called an era of living organisms. Many research and educational institutions with names beginning with “bio” have been created focusing on genetic (genomic) analyses in both Japan and foreign countries. However, in the basic life sciences of the post-genomic era, the focus will be on the material bases and existence of living organisms, meaning that fundamental principles need to be elucidated far beyond the decoding of genetic information. To understand the functions of living organisms, including molecular mechanisms of energy conversion, we need a physics that extracts and describes universalities in underlying biofunctions.

Some areas of physics seem to have encountered deadends, resembling the era just before quantum mechanics was established in early 20th century. The accession of quantum mechanics strongly influenced not only modern physics but a wide range of thought through propagation of uncertainty principles and problems of measurement. Semiconductor technology, where quantum mechanics is applied routinely, also brought an information revolution, centered mainly on computing, and changed our social structures to a great extent.

If the physics of self-organizing systems that we propose progresses, and languages and descriptions common in living organisms, materials and space (or direction toward its accomplishment) are discovered, it may bring a reformation equivalent to the establishment of the quantum mechanics in the 20th century. There are manifold unexplored roads and dreams in the physics of processes for finding various threads encompassing living organisms, materials and space. We want to provide the dream of exploring new fields to young people who can be attracted to learn physics.