2nd ASPIRE Technical Training Workshop – DiamondQTech

This is the 2nd Technical Workshop of the International Research Project DIAMONDQTECH - which is bilaterial research project funded by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The project is lead by Profs Takeshi Oshima (QST, Japan), and Fedor Jelezko (Ulm, Germany). This workshop provides more technical training to students, researchers and faculty interested in doing advanced research involving the development of diamond related quantum technologies. The workshop will run for two days from September 24 - 25 2026 at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. The workshop is primarily for members of the DIAMONDQTECH project but others located at the institutions involved can email the organiser (Prof J Twamley), for access. 

The Workshop will feature pedagogical lectures by the following invited speakers [alphabetical] with a poster session.

• Prof Alexander Barnes, (TBC)  ETH Zurich - focusing on dynamic nuclear polarization, designing ultra-strong magnets, and magic angle spinning of spheres
• Dr Mitchell de Vries, OIST - focusing on training in quantum technology using NV diamond, investigations into other forms of diamond and broadband microwave pulse implementation
• Prof Nir Bar-Gill, The Racah Institute of Physics - focusing on hyperpolarization in diamond, broadband defect control and many-body science using spins in diamond or other condensed matter systems.
• Prof Norikazu Mizuochi, Kyoto University - focusing on quantum sensing of axions, multi-level quantum sensing, and hybrid-spin decoupling.
• Dr Ruoming Peng, The University of Stuttgart - focusing on hybrid spin-phonon architecture for scalable quantum nodes, unravelling quantum dephasing, and spin-phonon entanglement 
• Prof Victor Acosta, The University of New Mexico - focusing on quantum sensing using diamond, magnetometry, gyroscopes and flux concentrators.
• Dr Yuliya Mindarava, The University of Ulm - focusing on nanothermometry,   hyperpolarization, synthesis of quantum-grade nanodiamonds

Accommodation: please book your accommodation far in advance in nearby hotels, guesthouses, airbnbs or homestays. See here for some information about the local neighborhood called Onna and this website.

Poster Sessions: we ask that all attendees to present a poster and when you register please include your title and abstract for your poster.

Transportation to/from OIST: We ask participants to take the Okinawa Airport Shuttle from the airport to the TIGER BEACH MAE stop. There are 22 Airport Shuttles per day but please book these in advance. See Okinawa Airport Shuttle Option A on this website.  We will organise taxis to be at this TIGER BEACH MAE stop regularly on Wed 23rd Sept to take you to your chosen accommodation. Similarly for your return bus back to the airport in Naha. We will work out the return logistics when you are here. The travel time is about 1 hour on the bus. There is car rental available at the Okinawa airport and we STRONGLY recommend you to share car rentals to get around Okinawa as the public transport is very bad.

Meals: Breakfast at your accommodation, Lunch Day 1 -  we will organise a bus to nearby beautiful oceanside food/craft precinct in Yomitan where you can take a choice of places to eat [your choice]. Dinner: Day 1: your choice [Free time]; Day 2: We will take a bus for a beachside BBQ at Nabee beach [we cover this].

What is covered by the workshop [excluding invited non-ASPIRE speakers]: the workshop will cover the facilities for the venue, morning tea and coffee and donuts, the BBQ Beachside dinner on Day 2. All other costs should be covered by your local ASPIRE funds.

Be aware of scams!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We have been made aware of a hotel booking scam using OIST's name. OIST will NEVER ask any travel agency to make a direct telephone call and/or contact you via an email on our behalf. 

Workshop Venue: The venue will be the beautiful Land Nexas building at OIST

Code of Conduct

We are committed to making our workshops (workshop(s) organized by OIST, hereinafter “our workshop(s)”) an inclusive space for sharing ideas and knowledge. We will not tolerate disrespectful communication, discrimination, harassment, or bullying in any form. As such, all participants attending our workshops are required to comply with this Code of Conduct. To provide all participants the opportunity to benefit from our workshops, we at OIST are dedicated to a positive, safe and harassment-free experience. Harassment in any form is specifically prohibited.

What is Harassment?

Harassment involves continued antisocial or unreasonable actions that violate a reasonable person’s personal rights and/or dignity and cause mental suffering, and thus worsen the person’s environment or make him/her anxious about participation. Behavior that is acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another, so we ask that you use discretion to be sure that respect is communicated. Harassment intended in a joking manner nevertheless constitutes unacceptable behavior. Speech that is not welcomed or that is personally offensive, whether it is based on gender, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, ethnicity, national origin, religion etc. will not be tolerated.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please bring this to the immediate attention of the organizers. If you wish to report an issue concerning the organizers, you can contact the Conference and Workshop Section directly and submit a confidential report by sending an email to workshop-codeofconduct@oist.jp. All complaints will be taken seriously and responded to by the Provost promptly. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent that it does not compromise the rights of others. Individuals found in breach of this Code of Conduct will be dismissed from the workshop immediately. Retaliation for reporting harassment is also a violation of Code of Conduct, as is reporting an incident in bad faith.