News

Associate Professor Shunsuke Adachi has joined the Astrophysics Laboratory at Okayama University. Prof. Adachi has been working to unravel the mysteries of the early universe through ground-based observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Going forward, the group will advance CMB research with a multifaceted approach, placing emphasis on both satellite and ground-based observations.

The approximately four-month internships of Léo Modart and Loaëc Paol (Grenoble INP Phelma), which began in May, have come to a close.

Léo worked with Nagano from our lab on “Evaluation of Systematic Errors in CMB Polarization Observations,” while Loaëc worked with Kakinoki on “Development of Superconducting Detectors Using Indium.”

At the final research presentations, they summarized their four months of results, and we held in-depth discussions with lab members. At the end of August, we organized a farewell gathering and enjoyed Japanese food together at an izakaya.

We wish both of them every success in their future endeavors!

M2 student Higuchi and M1 student Kakinoki attended an FPGA workshop held on July 31–August 1. Our laboratory is developing an FPGA-based readout system for superconducting detectors aimed at solar neutrino detection, and—given the limited availability of accessible FPGA resources—we found the workshop highly informative and gained many useful insights.

Léo Modart and Loaëc Paol, currently with us as interns from Grenoble Institute of Technology, gave their midterm presentations. They’ve been working steadily day by day, and their results are gradually taking shape. We’re excited to see what comes next.
On the same day, we were delighted to welcome Guillaume Patanchon, who offered warm advice and many helpful suggestions on our research. We are grateful for his visit.

Assistant Professor Ryota Takaku participated in the Low Temperature Detectors Conference 2025 (LTD 2025) held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, from June 1 to 6. He gave a poster presentation titled “Development of Electron Neutrino Detectors Using MKID and Indium Targets with Micro‑Machined Mask,” introducing our research and engaging in lively discussions with conference participants.

From June 25 to 27, 2025, Kento (a first-year master’s student) and Assistant Professor Takaku visited the Matsumura Laboratory at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo. During their stay they used a pulsed-laser machining system to prototype sapphire masks for MKID development, and exchanged ideas about their research with the laboratory’s students. The visit proved extremely rewarding, providing great inspiration for driving their future work forward.

(Kento explaining his research.)

As internship students from Grenoble Institute of Technology, Léo Modart (left) and Loaëc Paol (right) will be staying in our laboratory for three months.

We are pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Takaku has joined the Astrophysics Research Laboratory at Okayama University. Expectations are high for the further advancement of astrophysics research. Under this new leadership, the laboratory aims to achieve even greater development.
(In the photo, Assistant Professor Takaku is the second person from the right in the front row.)

On April 24, 2025, first-year doctoral student Ikuma attended the OU-SPRING certificate presentation ceremony held at the 50th Anniversary Commemoration Hall on the Tsushima Campus. OU-SPRING is a JST SPRING-selected initiative that provides research incentive grants and other support to doctoral students, aiding their research and career development. The ceremony was also featured in the “Latest News” section of the university’s official website.

Our lab members went to the Okayama Sakura Carnival and enjoyed a cherry blossom viewing while admiring the beautiful blossoms. In addition, the fourth-year undergraduate students—Ueyama, Hattori, and Fukushima—who joined us this April participated for the first time, and we all had a wonderful time together.