It is nothing unusual for pupils, students or doctoral candidates to gain practical experience or deepen their research at TITK. But a seasoned professor from the Far East? That doesn't happen every day here. For six months, Prof. Dr. Keiichiro Sano from Yokohama (Japan) has now swapped his job at the university for a place at the research institute in Rudolstadt, Thuringia. This very valuable scientific exchange for both sides came to an end a few days ago. The guest from the Land of the Rising Sun had previously spent time in the USA. He greatly appreciated the freedom of science and research in Germany.
Dr. Keiichiro Sano is a professor of symbiotic design at Kanto Gakuin University, a private, Christian university in Kanagawa Prefecture. It can look back on over 140 years of history and has almost 11,000 students. The university and TITK have been cooperating for some time.
Prof. Dr. Sano, how did your connection to TITK come about, and why did you want to spend a longer academic period here of all places?
Our collaboration began in August 2006, when Dr. Renate Lützkendorf from TITK gave a keynote lecture at the Yamanashi Prefectural Institute of Environmental Science, where I had previously worked. Even before that, there was a relationship between the University of Kassel and the Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT). The University of Kassel introduced TITK to the Yamanashi Prefectural Government through KIT.
Since the TITK lecture in Yamanashi, except during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been to TITK for about five days once or twice a year to exchange ideas and conduct research. We worked together on a deodorization technology for PP/flax fiber composites or on the development of PP/bamboo fiber composites including a life cycle assessment.
My students also visit the TITK for a day every year and give presentations at an exchange event. Dr. Thomas Reußmann from TITK, like his predecessor, gave keynote speeches at my university and at a Japanese conference several times.
I myself got to know advanced technologies at TITK. Now I wanted to stay at the institute a little longer to start some new research projects. I am very grateful for this opportunity.
What specific tasks and projects were you involved in?
I worked on the development of PP/cellulose nanofiber composites. TITK is cooperating with two Japanese universities and three companies on this.
Other projects concern the life cycle assessment of electric vehicles and the life cycle assessment of the recycling of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GRP), especially in cooperation with the Technische Universität Ilmenau.
Robert Hartmann from TITK introduced me to Ms. Shiva Mohammadkarimi from the Department of Plastics Technology at TU Ilmenau. And we are currently conducting research together here.
What links will there be between you and the TITK in the future?
We will continue to work on the three current projects. I would also like to continue visiting the TITK with my students every year .
Next year or the year after, I plan to apply for a travel support from the Japanese government so that four young engineers from TITK can stay in Japan for a week. I want to introduce them to Japanese technology - both universities and companies - and we want to find new projects between TITK and Japan.
Prof. Dr. Sano returned home last weekend. Prior to this, he was officially bid farewell by TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer, Head of Department Dr. Thomas Reußmann and Deputy Head of Department Carmen Knobelsdorf. “From our side, all doors are open to you for a further intensification of our cooperation,” emphasized Benjamin Redlingshöfer at the farewell and presented Prof. Dr. Sano with a Bavarian-Thuringian farewell gift: Franconian wine in a Bocksbeutel, handmade chocolates from Erfurt and two pairs of socks with the skin-caring Cell Solution® SKIN CARE fiber with vitamin E developed at TITK.
There will be a double reunion later this year: Benjamin Redlingshöfer will travel to the World Expo in Osaka in June and, thanks to Prof. Dr. Sano, is also planning a meeting with the leadership of Kanto Gakuin University. In September, Prof. Dr. Sano plans to come to Rudolstadt with the next students.
