Faculty and Research Units
OIST research units take a cross-disciplinary approach to research, and the PhD program encourages students to explore the intersections of disparate fields of science and technology. Find the research unit of your interest below.
Faculty and Research Units
Find a Faculty Member or Research Unit
Analysis and Partial Differential Equations Unit
The mission of the Analysis and PDE unit is to reveal and analyze the mathematical principles reflecting natural phenomena expressed by partial differential equations and advance the boundar...
Ugur Abdulla
Professor
Biological Systems Unit
The Biological Systems Unit is working on devices in which microorganisms break down waste, releasing energy in the process. Key Okinawan industries such as awamori distilleries, pig and chi...
Igor Goryanin
Professor (Adjunct)
Cell Division Dynamics Unit
The Cell Division Dynamics Unit studies the mechanisms of chromosome segregation and cell fate determination during mitosis with a focus on mitotic spindle assembly and positioning in cultured human cells and Medaka embryos.
Tomomi Kiyomitsu
Assistant Professor
Cell Proliferation and Gene Editing Unit
Every day, millions of cells in our body divide to maintain essential tissue functions. Errors in cell division can lead to developmental disorders or cancer. The research of the unit is focused on molecular mechanisms of cell divison and quality control in normal and cancer cells to understand tumor-suppressive mechanisms and identify biomarkers that confer a cancer-specific vulnerability to chemical drugs. The unit combines high throughput imaging, gene editing and genome wide screens to open new avenues for therapeutic development.
Franz Meitinger
Assistant Professor
Cognitive Neurorobotics Research Unit
The Cognitive Neurorobotics Research Unit is dedicated to investigating the principles of embodied cognition by conducting experimental studies in synthetic neurorobotics. The primary goals of our research are to understand:on how innate structures can be leveraged to develop cognitive constructs through iterative but limited behavioral experiences; how primary intersubjectivity in social cognition can be formed through enactive and contextual interactions with others; and how subjective experiences such as consciousness and free will can be scientifically and phenomenologically explained. In addition, our developmental neurorobotics approach is intended to uncover the underlying mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. Through these researches, we can expect to deepen our ontological understanding of human beings, rather than simply creating another smart machine-learning robot.
Jun Tani
Professor
Complex Fluids and Flows Unit
We study multiscale and multiphysics problems related to fluid dynamics by numerical simulations. Our research is focused on turbulence, non-Newtonian fluids and multiphase flows.
Marco Edoardo Rosti
Assistant Professor
Continuum Physics Unit
Continuum Physics Unit members carry out theoretical and experimental research in the mechanics of continuous media, including cellular materials, granular materials, and complex fluids with...
Gustavo Gioia
Professor
Electronic and Quantum Magnetism Unit
We study topics of electron correlation in physics and materials science, such as emergent phenomena at quantum phase transitions, spin frustration and excitation, and Fermi surface evolution.
Yejun Feng
Associate Professor
Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit
The Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit studies energy materials using a surface science approach with an aim to develop innovative energy harvesting and storage technologies.
Yabing Qi
Professor
Fluid Mechanics Unit
The Fluid Mechanics Unit uses theory, experiments, and simulations to seek simple insights into complex flows in nature and engineering.
Pinaki Chakraborty
Professor
Future-Proof Cryptography Unit
The Future-Proof Cryptography Unit studies Multi-Party Computation, Fully Homomorphic Encryption, Verifiable Computation and Cryptanalysis and how these are affected by quantum computers.
Najwa Aaraj
Professor (Adjunct)
Light-Matter Interactions for Quantum Technologies Unit
We study interactions between small particles, such as atoms, and laser light using nano-optics tools, to better understand light’s influences on dynamics.
Síle Nic Chormaic
Professor
Mechanics and Materials Unit
Research in the Mechanics and Materials Unit is focused on the formulation and analysis of mathematical models for novel systems in the mechanical and material sciences. To derive physically...
Eliot Fried
Professor
Micro/ Bio/ Nanofluidics Unit
Micro/Bio/Nanofluidic Unit develops lab-on-a-chip devices to probe fluid flows and discover new flow phenomena in microscopic worlds, with applications in biotechnology.
Amy Shen
Professor
Neural Computation Unit
The Neural Computation Unit develops algorithms that elucidate the brain’s mechanisms for robust and flexible learning. The unit focuses on how the brain processes reinforcement learning, in...
Kenji Doya
Professor
Nonlinear and Non-equilibrium Physics Unit
We work in experimental nonlinear, non-equilibrium and soft matter physics. Our current research focuses on fluids, granular media, fluctuations in renewables and quantitative life sciences.
Mahesh Bandi
Professor
Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Engineering Unit
Nucleic acids DNA and RNA are fundamental building blocks of life. These biomolecules display remarkable chemical functions such as information storage, catalysis, and molecular recognition....
Yohei Yokobayashi
Professor
Quantum Engineering and Design Unit
The Quantum Engineering and Design Unit explores how we can transfer today ideas in quantum information science into tomorrow’s quantum technologies through system design.
Bill Munro
Professor