National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is a big research center in Japan. Its main office is in Tokyo, but most of the scientists and workers are in Tsukuba Science City in Ibaraki and other places across Japan. AIST was created to bring together science and engineering to help solve important problems for society and the economy.

In 2001, AIST became a special kind of organization called an Independent Administrative Institution. It still works closely with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The institute studies many areas, like new materials, energy, and information technology, to make life better for everyone.

History

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, known as AIST, started in its current form in 2001. But its earlier research groups have been working since 1882. By 2015, AIST had more than 40 research institutes and several offices across Japan, including the International Metrology Cooperation Office.

Three missions of AIST

AIST has three main goals. First, it works on advanced research in many areas to help create new ideas and stronger industries in Japan. Second, it studies topics that connect different subjects to help plan long-term government policies based on what society needs now and in the future. Third, it focuses on basic research to keep Japan strong in science and technology by setting high standards for scientific and engineering work.

Type-I and Type-II basic research

The institute works to bring together scientific and engineering knowledge from many different areas to solve complex problems that change quickly over time.

AIST calls this kind of research Type-II Basic Research, which combines many subjects to create new ways to use the knowledge. Traditional basic research is called Type-I Basic Research, which looks for new rules and principles about how nature works. AIST focuses on doing full research, from Type-I Basic Research to creating new products through Type-II Basic Research.

Each part of AIST focuses on creating a research system where scientists with different backgrounds can work together on projects that address society's needs.

Employees

The institute has many researchers and staff members who work on important projects. As of April 1, 2012, there were 2,288 researchers, including both tenured and fixed-term researchers, along with 661 administrative staff. In total, the institute had 2,949 employees.

Geological Survey of Japan

The Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) began in 2001. It was formed from parts of the AIST that studied the Earth’s surface and rocks. This new GSJ took the place of an older version that started much earlier, in 1882.

Notable scientists

Some well-known scientists have worked at AIST. Hiroyuki Yoshikawa served as the former President of AIST and also led the University of Tokyo, the Science Council of Japan, and the International Council for Science. Jun Kondo is famous for his work on the Kondo effect. Sumio Iijima discovered the Carbon nanotube. Yoshinori Tokura is known for experiments in nanotechnology. Hiromichi Kataura did important research with carbon nanotubes and created the Kataura plot.

Products

AIST has worked on interesting projects, including robots and helpful tools. One project is the HRP-2 Promet, a robot designed to help with everyday tasks, developed together with Kawada Industries. There is also HRP-4C, a robot shaped like a person. Another special robot is Paro, which looks like a baby harp seal and is used to help people feel better.

Other products include DeleGate, a tool that connects different kinds of computer networks, and a free online database called the Spectral Database for Organic Compounds (SDBS). This database contains information about the shapes and properties of many organic compounds. AIST also created the Structure atlas of the human genome, which helps scientists study human DNA.