OIST History Highlights

Table of Contents

June 2023

Karin Markides appointed 3rd president

Karin Markides

Dr. Markides was selected by the OIST Board of Governors, following the recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee, which led a comprehensive, global search.

Dr. Markides completed her doctorate degree in analytical chemistry at Stockholm University. Since then, she has served as a researcher at Brigham Young University in the U.S.; professor and dean at Uppsala University in Sweden; visiting professor at Stanford; deputy-director general of Vinnova, the Swedish innovation agency; president and CEO of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden; and, most recently, as president of the American University of Armenia (affiliated with the University of California system). She is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science and was on the Nobel selection committee for Chemistry.

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April 2023

Lab 5 opened

Lab 5 interior

Late in 2018, architectural firm Kume Sekkei won the design competition for Lab 5. Kume Sekkei's design complements and continued the vision of the previous four Lab building designs by Nikken Sekkei.

Located adjacent to Labs 1 and 4, Lab 5 contains three major elements: 7-Dry Labs; 13-Wet Labs; and a vivarium. The Lab space areas are approximately 16,000m2 with the vivarium wing being about 3,000m2 in floor area. In addition to the 20 wet and dry labs for chemistry, life sciences, theoretical physics, quantum cryptography, and offices for principal investigators, lab 5 includes a much-needed animal research vivarium.

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December 2022

OIST Professor (Adjunct) Svante Pääbo wins 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Svante Pääbo

October 3 – Okinawa, Japan – The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is proud to announce that Svante Pääbo, an Adjunct Professor at OIST and Director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution".

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November 2021

10th anniversary of OIST

OIST anniversary

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University’s (OIST) 10th Anniversary Ceremony, which was held on May 22, 2022, brought together the Board of Governors, the Japanese Government, Okinawa Prefecture Government, representatives from throughout Japan and overseas, and the OIST community to celebrate the first decade of OIST’s journey. The ceremony was originally scheduled for November 2021, which would have coincided with the actual 10th anniversary but the decision was made to delay the ceremony due to the travel restrictions and for the wellbeing of the community. The ceremony included a video message from Japan’s Prime Minister, H.E. Fumio Kishida, who congratulated OIST for its success over the last decade, stated that he had great hopes for how OIST’s research will benefit society, and promised to support OIST as the institution grows in the future.

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April 2020

Lab 4 opened

lab 4

With about 20,000m2 of floor area, Lab 4 is OIST’s largest lab building, and it is located higher up than any other building on campus.

During planning, it was decided that the offices of the president and other executives would be moved to Lab 4. In addition to about 20 wet and dry research labs and offices of principal investigators, Lab 4 includes a second cafeteria space and the Children’s Research Center, a lab dedicated to furthering understanding of ADHD in children.

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December 2018

OIST Innovation Incubator established

OIST innovation incubator

OIST Innovation Incubator is a facility for Technology-based Startups. The facility is equipped with shared offices, shared equipment and shared lab. It is open to startup companies as well as established companies that wish to collaborate with OIST. The 500m2 pre-fab facility is located in the R&D Zone of the OIST Main Campus. The facility accommodates up to 40 people in a mixed-use office and lab setting.

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February 2018

First PhD students graduated

first PhD student's graduate

OIST held its inaugural Graduation Ceremony on February 24, 2018, to celebrate the achievements of OIST’s very first graduates.

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) held its inaugural Graduation Ceremony on February 24, 2018, to celebrate the achievements of OIST’s very first graduates. This occasion is testament to the dedication and hard work of OIST’s students, staff members and founders and proves that, in just six years, Japan has established an outstanding new university for world-class international scientific research in Okinawa.

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January 2017

Peter Gruss appointed 2nd president of the university

Peter Gruss

The Board of Governors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology appointed Dr. Peter Gruss — internationally recognized researcher in gene regulation and embryonic development and former President of the Max Planck Society — as the CEO and President of OIST.

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July 2016

Marine Science Station opened

Marine science station

The location of OIST, an island surrounded by the sea, makes it an ideal institute for marine science research. With the increase of marine science units on the main campus, a decision was made to build a lab building exclusively for this field of research — the OIST Marine Science Station. A seafront site was provided by Onna Village in Seragaki, approximately 8km northeast of the main campus, and construction of the building was completed in 2016. The Marine Science Station includes both indoor and outdoor tanks that receive filtered and unfiltered seawater directly from the sea through underwater pipes pumped to seawater tanks on the roof top. The darker structure in the middle in photo below is a wall of seawater tanks.

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June 2015

Lab 3 opened

Lab 3

Lab 3, completed in 2015, was the last building in the complex of four designed prior to the establishment of OIST as a graduate university. Directly attached to Lab 2, Lab 3 is connected to Center Court and Lab 1 with skywalk bridges and to Lab 4 through an underground corridor.

Approximately 20 labs and offices for principal investigators, the office of Graduate School, and several classrooms are located in this building. The Graduate School is responsible for all affairs related to graduate students, including admission of students and administration of the education and research programs. Lab 3 also houses TDIC (Technology Development and Innovation Center) which is responsible for technology licensing, business development, management of the university’s startup incubator facilities, and many other activities related to industrial relations, patents, and intellectual property.

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September 2012

First class of students accepted

First graduate students

OIST held a Welcome Ceremony for its first class of students on September 3, 2012.

The spotlight was on the first group of doctoral students at the welcome event that was held in the OIST auditorium. Speeches from President Jonathan Dorfan, Provost Robert Baughman and Dean Jeff Wickens welcomed the students and their families to the university.

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welcome ceremony eisa

welcome ceremony eisa

2012 welcome ceremony with Eisa performing

The ceremony concluded with a performance based on traditional Okinawan folk dance “Eisa”.

June 2012

Lab 2 opened

Lab 2

Lab 2 is connected to Center Building through the Skywalk, a suspended bridge that traverses the valley between the two buildings, offering magnificent views of the campus and the sea. In addition to dry and wet labs for about 20 research units, Lab 2 also includes laser labs and clean rooms. Lab 2 is directly attached to Lab 3 which in turn is connected to Lab 1 and Center Court through open or enclosed skywalk bridges.

For innovative design and construction, Lab 2 was awarded LEED SILVER status, a green building certification under the internationally recognized standard Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED).

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November 19, 2011

University accredited

University accredited

OIST School Corporation and Graduate University accredited by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on October 24, 2011.

OIST Inauguration ceremony held on November 19, 2011.

Image note: Mr. Fumio Isoda, Director General for the Higher Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, presents President Jonathan Dorfan with the ‘Approval for University Establishment’ on October 25, 2011.

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OIST Accredited 2011 reporters

Dr. Robert Baughman and President Jonathan Dorfan answer questions from reporters.

Documents from university accreditation 2011

Documents from university accreditation 2011

November 2011

Jonathan Dorfan appointed 1st president of the university

Jonathan Dorfan

Appointed inaugural president in 2010, Dr. Dorfan led OIST through university accreditation in 2011 and initiated the second phase of OIST's growth. Jonathan Dorfan retired from OIST in December 2016 and is now President Emeritus. In 2017, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, one of Japan’s most distinguished national decorations, for contributing to the development of Japan’s science research and education.

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March 2010

First lab and the center building opened in Onna village

Center building and lab 1

Center Building

The Center Building is accessed through the Tunnel Gallery and is designed as the central hub for the first three OIST laboratory buildings. The Tunnel Gallery corridor leads to elevators that connect the university’s main ground-level entrance to the three-story Center Building. Due to a considerable height difference between the ground level entrance and the first level of Center Building, there are no stairs in the elevator hall. Emergency exit stairs are connected to Center Building’s exterior in various locations and levels.

Lab 1

Lab 1 was the first lab building designed and built for OIST and set the standard for the lab buildings that followed. Lessons learned from the operation of Lab 1 provided valuable insight for later construction.

Lab 1 houses faculty offices, wet and dry labs, research facilities for more than 20 research units, and other major resources such as the Electron Microscope Suite, the DNA Sequencing Center, and the Supercomputing Center.

In 2010 OIST received a Good Lighting Award for excellent illumination facilities in Lab 1. About 90% of all lights are LEDs which use about 25% less energy than conventional light bulbs.

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November 2008

First open house

OIST first open house in 2008

OIST held its first open house at the Okinawa Industrial and Technology Center in Uruma City, providing an opportunity for local citizens to see the research activities of OIST. Approximately 630 people, including elementary and janitor high school students, came to enjoy lectures, scientific exhibitions and demonstrations.

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March 2006

Seaside house opens

seaside house aerial

Seaside house was the first permanent campus site in Onna-son. Seaside House was renovated, as it used to be Hakuun-so, a government recreation facility.

Seaside House was a vacant building when it was acquired by OIST, several years before the opening of the main campus. The building was fully renovated in 2007 to provide office and research space for the first OIST staff and research units. Seaside House also has 22 hotel-style 2-bed guestrooms for overnight stays.

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August 2005

Sydney Brenner appointed president of OIST "Promotion Corporation"

Sydney Brenner

A recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, Dr. Sydney Brenner served as the President of the OIST Promotion Corporation between 2005 and 2011, for which he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government in 2017.

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April 2003

Onna village selected as OIST location

Aerial of Onna village showing location of OIST campus

Aerial showing the planned location for the OIST main campus in Onna village. 

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Aerial of Okinawa showing location of Onna village

Aerial image showing the location of Onna village

early sketch of OIST campus in Onna village

Early sketch of OIST campus in Onna village. 

June 2001

Plan announced for new international graduate university in Okinawa

Koji Omi

Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs and Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, the Honorable Koji Omi, announced a plan for a new international graduate university in Okinawa.

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