The GMI Research Center seeks to advance socio-technical innovation for a sustainable, low-carbon society through the improvement and development of clean energy materials and durable infrastructure materials.

The Cross-Sector Research Collaborative for Ultra-Long-Life Materials is dedicated to developing the technologies needed to rebuild our public infrastructure with durable, environmentally friendly materials. YNU already has a strong track record in this field and a number of dedicated research groups involved in pioneering work. But because a whole system of established procedures and practices has grown up around the manufacture, inspection, and repair of traditional materials, replacing them raises a wide variety of considerations, issues that academic researchers cannot fully grasp on their own. At the same time, not all of the varied challenges facing society are of the sort that businesses are willing to tackle independently. A promising approach to the important but formidable technical challenges facing society is open innovation initiated by the university and carried out in collaboration with industry and government.

The Ultra-Long-Life Materials Research Collaborative is divided into three research groups, metallic materials, ceramics, and concrete. In addition to carrying out materials research within each of these groups, the collaborative stresses wide-ranging exchange of information and ideas to foster “horizontal deployment” of new materials technology. For example, efforts are already under way to apply the self-healing technology developed by YNU ceramics researchers to other materials, such as concrete and heat-resistant metallic materials. Like the Clean Energy Materials Research Collaborative, we promote innovation in materials technology by sharing information about the latest research and research trends through regular symposiums and international-conference briefings, by carrying out research individually and in conjunction with major projects, and by nurturing the expertise to develop and sustain tomorrow’s technologies via technical training for professional engineers, doctoral courses for mid-career students, internships, and more.