On the Establishment of IFS-GCORE

　
Kaoru Maruta, Director, Institute of Fluid Science

IFS was founded in 1943 as the Institute of High-Speed Mechanics and reorganized in 1989 as the Institute of Fluid Science. The past, present, and future of IFS can be divided into four major phases. The first phase, which began with the founding of Institute of High-Speed Mechanics, dealt mainly with water and air flows, and research in those days was conducted mainly through experiments and mathematics in the era of no computers. Since the 1980s, the types of flows targeted by IFS have greatly expanded, and world-class achievements have been made in a wide range of flow research fields, including dilute fluids, magnetic fluids, combustion flows, and shock waves, and IFS moved into its second phase after reorganization. Since then, numerical calculations have flourished with the introduction of supercomputers, and experimental and measurement techniques, including lasers, have become dramatically more sophisticated. By the turn of the 21st century, IFS entered the third phase of transdisciplinary collaboration between macro-materials and flow dynamics, such as aerospace, energy, biotechnology, and medical engineering fields.

In October 2022, IFS newly established the Global Collaborative Research and Education Center for Integrated Flow Science (IFS-GCORE), and entered into the fourth phase of the development of “Integrated Flow Science”. In the fourth phase, IFS aims to become a global co-creation hub for “Flow-Material Collaborative Research” by forming and developing flow dynamics alliances that generate robust and sustainable synergy effects through co-creation and emergence among diverse academic disciplines and applied fields.

IFS-GCORE, which will be the core of the fourth phase, proposes a new concept of “Integrated Fluid Science” based on a solid academic foundation in fluid science research and encompassing solutions to social issues in various applied fields. The center will add flow-nano materials to the flow-macro materials that have been developed up to now, and will promote international collaborative research on flow and materials with digital and green technologies as the exit. With the establishment of this center, the scope of collaborative research will be greatly expanded to include advanced fields such as carbon neutrality and advanced semiconductors, with the aim of contributing to the resolution of social issues.

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Greetings from the Director of the Center

　
Tetsuya Uchimoto, Director, IFS-GCOR

The Global Collaborative Research and Education Center for Integrated Flow Science (IFS-GCORE) will conduct research on the academic foundation of integrated flow science for its development into innovative semiconductor devices, fuel ammonia, and a variety of other applied fields. By integrating and strengthening the activities of the predecessor organization of Global Collaborative Research and Education Center (GCORE), which supported the promotion of international collaborative activities, and the Lyon Center, which achieved significant results in exchange and joint research between Japan and France, the new center will promote joint research and education with overseas centers in France, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and other countries, aiming to become an alliance-type international center that creates social impact.

To this end, it is essential for researchers specializing in various fluid science fields to co-create and generate new research together with domestic and international collaborators in diverse academic and applied fields. We also hope that this international center, where young researchers from various fields around the world gather, will produce highly specialized human resources who are well versed in diverse academic fields and cultures.