10th Annual U.S. and Japan Digital Innovation Hub & Advanced Technology Workshop
AI Convergence
September 7-9, 2026
Purdue Memorial Union, West Lafayette, Indiana
Sponsored by:
Purdue Office of Industry Partnerships
Join us September 7-9, 2026 for the 10th annual U.S. – Japan Digital Innovation Hub and Advanced Technology Workshop at Purdue University. This annual workshop promotes collaboration between universities, research institutions and companies from both nations, fostering research and workforce development in crucial technologies in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technology.
Agenda
| TIME | AGENDA | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| All times are EST | Monday, September 7, 2026 | |
| 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Registration | West Faculty Lounge | 2nd Floor of Purdue Memorial Union |
| 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Welcome Reception | West Faculty Lounge | 2nd Floor of Purdue Memorial Union |
| TIME | AGENDA | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| All times are EST | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 | |
| 7:15 a.m. | Registration | Outside of South Ballroom |
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. | Light Breakfast | South Ballroom |
| 8:00 a.m. – 8:10 a.m. | Welcome Remarks •Yuka Suzuki, Counselor of Embassy of Japan in US (on behalf of Ambassador Shigeo Yamada) | North Ballroom |
| 8:10 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Keynote Speaker | North Ballroom |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Plenary Keynote 1 – AI TRANSFORMATION •Ken Fukuda, Director for AI Industry Strategy Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | North Ballroom |
| 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Session 1 | AI Transformation Panel Session | Q&A Moderator: •Tetsuya Sakurai, Executive Research Director of Center for Artificial Intelligence Research, Professor, Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba Panelists: •Hideaki Ozawa, Chief Technology Officer, NTT Research, Inc. •Yoshio Tanaka, Executive Officer, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) | North Ballroom |
| 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Break | |
| 10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Plenary Keynote 2 – SEMICONDUCTORS •Tetsuo Endoh, Professor and Director of Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems (CIES), Tohoku University •Rick Gottscho, President, SemiSan, LLC, retired Executive Vice President and CTO of LAM Research and advisor to Rapidus | North Ballroom |
| 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Session 2 | Semiconductors Panel Session | Q&A “AI and Digital Twins to Accelerate the Pace of Research and Innovation” Panel Session Moderator: •Todd Younkin, CEO, Semiconductor Research Corporation Panelists: •Alejandro Strachan, Reilly Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University •Zhihong Chen, Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University •Janhavi Giri, Principal Architect, Semiconductors, EDA & AI, NetApp, San Jose, CA •Akinobu Teramoto, Director of the Research Institute for Semiconductor Engineering, Hiroshima University | North Ballroom |
| 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. | Lunch | Networking | South Ballroom |
| 1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Plenary Keynote 3 – MATERIALS & MANUFACTURING Ajay Malshe, R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering; President’s Fellow; Director, Manufacturing and Materials Research Laboratories (MMRL); Co-Director, eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations (XMO) | North Ballroom |
| 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Session 3 | Materials & Manufacturing Panel Session | Q&A Moderators: •Nik Chawla, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation for the College of Engineering, Ransburg Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University •Makoto Kobashi, Vice President, Director, Academic Research and Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration, Nagoya University Panelists: •Rob Proctor, Chief of Materials Engineering, Rolls-Royce •Mark Gruninger, Senior Director for Industrial Research & Consortia, School of Materials Engineering (MSE) Manufacturing & Materials Research Laboratory (MMRL) •Ryusuke Takahashi, Founder and CEO, Acompany Co., Ltd. •Dr. Takeaki Sakurai, Professor of the Department of Applied Physics, Tsukuba University | North Ballroom |
| 2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Break | |
| 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Plenary Keynote 4 – TECH DIPLOMACY | North Ballroom |
| 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Session 4 | Tech Diplomacy Panel Session | Q&A Moderator: •Janice deGarmo, Chief Global Engagement Officer, Krach Institute for Diplomacy, Purdue University Panelists: •Roy Sugimura, Supervisory Innovation Coordinator, AIST •Takehito Kamata, Associate Professor, Sophia University | North Ballroom |
| 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. | Reception & Networking | South Ballroom |
| 4:30 p.m. | Poster Session Presentation | North Ballroom |
| 5:15 p.m. | Dinner | South Ballroom |
| TIME | AGENDA | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| All times are EST | Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | |
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. | Light Breakfast | West Faculty Lounge | 2nd Floor |
| 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Details Coming Soon | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Break | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | Plenary Keynote 5 – SPACE •US: Dr. Chris Blackerby, Chief Operating Officer, Astroscale | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Session 5 | Space Panel Session | Q&A Moderator: •Dan Dumbacher, Professor of Engineering Practice, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University Panelists: •US: Kenshiro Oguri, Assistant Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University •Japan: Toshinori Kuwahara, Professor, Distinguished Researcher, Director of Research Center for Space Cross-Tech; Space Infrastructure Engineering Lab. Research Center for Green X-Tech, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University; Co-Founder and Director, Elevation Space Inc. (Confirmed) •Hideki Kanayama, Director, Space Development Department, Shimizu Corp. | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Break | |
| 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (30 minutes) | Plenary Keynote 6 – QUANTUM (QIS & SECURITY) •Masahiro Kitagawa, Professor, University of Osaka | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (60 minutes) | Session 6 | Quantum Panel Session | Q&A Panelists: •Yoshihisa Yamamoto, professor emeritus of Edward L. Ginzton Laboratory, James and Anna Maria Spilker Engineering and Applied Sciences at Stanford University and a director of Physics & Informatics Laboratories at NTT Research •Indradeep Ghosh, CEO, Fujitsu Research America | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Session for Future Collaboration: Next Steps | Anniversary Drawing Room | 2nd Floor |
| 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Boxed Lunch | Networking | West Lounge | 1st Floor PMU |
| 2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Facility and/or lab tours on campus |