Honorary doctorate for Dr. KAKIMOTO Ken-ichi, Executive Director and Vice President, from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) of Germany
Category:News|Publishing : October 17, 2024
On July 11, 2024, Dr. KAKIMOTO Ken-ichi, NITech's Executive Director and Vice President, was awarded with an honorary doctorate (Dr.-Ing. e.h.) from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), in recognition of his research in his field of specialization, piezoelectric materials. Following the degree ceremony, Dr. KAKIMOTO delivered a commemorative lecture titled "Lead-free Piezoelectrics-- Challenges and Chances."
NITech and FAU have been building close ties in the areas of both education and research since the two universities signed an inter-departmental academic exchange agreement in the field of ceramics in 2009. This was followed by an inter-university academic exchange agreement signed in 2011. In 2013, NITech opened its Liaison Office on the FAU campus. In 2019, the two universities' graduate program was adopted on the Japanese-German Graduate Externship (JGGE) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and starting in April 2024, there has been a joint degree (JD) program "Joint Degree Doctoral Program in Energy Conversion Systems" (doctoral program).
It is expected that Dr. KAKIMOTO's reception of the honorary degree will further promote the two universities' exchange and collaboration in education and research.
Dr. KAKIMOTO's comment
Over the past 15 years, joint research and student exchanges between the laboratories of both universities have enabled us to jointly publish 42 papers in academic journals and 85 papers at conferences. We have been able to carry out interdisciplinary research not only with FAU's Department of Material Science and Engineering, whose specialization is close to ours, but also with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the faculty, lab staff, and students at the two universities who have participated in the program and many others who have supported our research and student exchange.
Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President of FAU (left), Dr. KAKIMOTO Ken-ichi, Executive Director and Vice President (center), Prof. Dr. Kai Willner, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, FAU (right)