About Photonics Center

About Photonics Center

The University of Osaka is recognized as one of the world’s leading centers for photonics research. The university has hosted numerous photonics projects across its various faculties and schools, advancing both fundamental and applied studies while fostering a large number of talented engineers and scientists.
From 2001 to 2006, the Graduate School of Engineering implemented the Frontier Research Institute program, funded by the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, where nanophotonics was selected as one of the strategic priority areas.

Under this program, the University of Osaka made bold efforts to establish photonics as an academic discipline, to link it with other scientific fields, and to promote collaboration between academia and industry—for example, through joint research supported by matching funds with various companies.

In the same spirit, the Nano-Photonics Initiative was established in 2005 as an independent, multidisciplinary research organization, bringing together experts in electrical and electronic engineering and applied physics.

Since then, the Initiative has been dedicated to advancing nanophotonics research, fostering new industries, and cultivating human talent through diverse activities. These include launching three university-led venture companies, hosting three rounds of the International Nanophotonics Symposium Handai, offering e-learning courses for working professionals, and publishing a three-volume academic series (Handai Nanophotonics Book Series, Elsevier).

Originally a virtual organization within the University of Osaka, the Photonics Center is carrying on the mission of this Nano-Photonics Initiative, providing opportunities for researchers in this broad-based discipline to engage in education, research, and information sharing. With the completion of the Photonics Center in 2011, the Center has further consolidated its foundations. There are currently more than twenty research labs, not restricted to specific graduate courses and major subjects, and numerous businesses at the Photonics Center conducting research on photonics as a base science and technology for the 21 century. Through such projects as the Photonics Advanced Research Center (2007–2016), the Photonics-based Eco-Life Technology Development Center (2009–present), the JSPS Advanced Nano Photonics Research and Education Center in Asia (2011–2015), and the succeeding Global Nano-Photonics (Core-to-Core Program 2016–2020), the Photonics Center carries out advanced scientific research on nanophotonics and plasmonics and their application and industrialization, development of photonics-based eco-life technology and support for its industrialization, and projects for international exchange and human resources development. From April 2017, the Photonics Center has been reorganized as an educational research facility attached to the Graduate School of Engineering. We continue our mission to promote education and drive innovation in photonics.

Photonics Center is engaged in the following projects:

• MEXT PARC Project（2007-2016）
• METI Light Eco-Life Project（2009-）
• AIST-Osaka University Advanced Photonics and Biosensing Open Innovation Laboratory（2017-2023）
• JSPS Asian Nanophotonics Program（2011-2015）
• Advanced Research Networks (2016-2020) JSPS Core-to-Core Program Advanced Nanophotonics in the Emerging Fields of Nano-imaging, Spectroscopy, Nonlinear Optics, Plasmonics/Metamaterials and Devices（2016-2020）
• International Joint Research Promotion Program, Osaka University Nano-functional Photonics （2014-）