This spring, Willem Vos, Melissa Goodwin and Mike Dikkers from COPS and MESA+ Nanolab visited the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) of the University of Tokyo. Willem Vos: “It was fantastic to finally have an opportunity to visit our friends and colleagues live after the pandemic and be able to intensively discuss with them and see their worldleading facilities”. In October 2020, MESA+ and the Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the ongoing collaborations between both institutes.

Colloquium, tours and tulips

As part of the collaboration between IIS and MESA+, Willem Vos gave a colloquium during the visit, hosted by professors Yasuhiko Arakawa, Kaz Hirakawa, and Satoshi Iwamoto, entitled: “When light walks randomly through photonic nanostructures: From fundamental puzzles to sustainable industrial applications”.

The busy program also included many intensive scientific discussions, as well as tours of the impressive UT (University of Tokyo!) laboratories and of multiple cleanrooms.

Of course, there was also a moment to admire the tulips that happened to be in bloom during the visit. To mark the signing of the MoU in 2020, MESA+ sent tulip bulbs as a colorful gift to IIS. These tulips symbolize the friendship between the institutes’ scientists and the collaboration between the institutes and are already in their 3^rd year with hopefully many years to come.