Purdue delegation advances international partnership during Japan trip

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue delegation deepened collaborations in semiconductor research and technology innovation during corporate and government meetings in Japan.

President Mung Chiang was joined by Chad Pittman, president and CEO of Purdue Research Foundation, for the trip to Tokyo on April 23-24. The agenda included meetings with leaders from Hitachi High-Tech; the U.S. Affairs Team with Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation; and the Japanese government’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

During the trip, Chiang also received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 2025 Founders Medal at the IEEE Vision, Innovation, and Challenges Summit and Honors Ceremony Gala in Tokyo. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization and the Founders Medalists in the past include CEOs of Google and NVIDIA, founders of Intel and Sony, and presidents of MIT and Stanford.

Chiang also spoke at the IEEE summit panel “Driving Global Innovation,” which discussed 5G and 6G communications and the impact of artificial intelligence on emerging technologies and the job market.

Future work connected to semiconductors and artificial intelligence were the topic of the day for the Purdue delegation’s meeting with METI, including discussions around forming ways to share information and data connected to technology and innovation between the like-minded nations. Purdue and Japan have recorded 22 international agreements involving four Japanese universities.

Purdue is partnering with Micron, Tokyo Electron and other educational institutions in the United States and Japan to establish the UPWARDS Network for workforce advancement and research and development in semiconductors.

On corporate research partnership, the team talked about potential partnerships and research opportunities with Hitachi High-Tech leadership related to Purdue’s Atalla Institute for Advanced System Integration and Packaging. Opportunities for Purdue support in joint research initiatives and an R&D center also were considered.

Much of the discussion with Keidanren was related to global and economic security. Representatives from Japanese companies, government entities and academic partners also attended a Purdue reception during the trip.

Purdue’s national leadership in microelectronics and semiconductors is a cornerstone of Purdue Computes — a comprehensive initiative that spans computing departments, physical AI, quantum science and semiconductor innovation.  

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