On September 9, 2026, Executive Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi of Tohoku University and Senior Vice President Dimitrios Peroulis of Purdue University signed a Letter of Intent (LoI), expressing their commitment to further strengthen collaboration between the two institutions. The signing ceremony followed the conclusion of the U.S.-Japan Digital Innovation Hub Workshop, which had been held at Purdue that same week.
Purdue University is one of the leading public universities in the United States, with particularly notable achievements in aerospace engineering and semiconductor-related fields. Tohoku and Purdue have developed close relations in these areas through joint research projects and student exchanges. More recently, collaboration between the two universities has made significant strides through initiatives such as UPWARDS*, the U.S.-Japan Digital Innovation Hub*, and the JST ASPIRE Program*.
Building on these achievements, the two universities agreed to further expand and deepen their research collaboration activities. The LoI identifies hydrogen energy, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and quantum technologies as priority research areas, while outlining initiatives to strengthen collaboration going forward. The partnership is expected to generate new research outcomes that are of high value to academia and industry alike.
* UPWARDS: The ‘U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement & Research Development in Semiconductors (UPWARDS) for the Future Network’.
* U.S.-Japan Digital Innovation Hub: A long-running initiative that aims to promote innovation in the digital, science, and technology fields, specifically through the collaboration of industry, academia, and government in Japan and the United States.
* JST ASPIRE Program: Tohoku University has been selected for a project focused on the development of catalysts for hydrogen energy devices.
Contact:
Global Engagement Division / Global Strategy Office
Email: kokusai-k*grp.tohoku.ac.jp / kokusai-c*grp.tohoku.ac.jp
(Please replace the asterisk * with an @.)