OIST Graduation Ceremony 2023
The University
OIST is international, with over 60 nationalities working onsite. Over 60% of faculty come from outside Japan, and the working language is English. OIST produces highly trained young scientists who are completely at ease in the global environment of science and industry.
OIST is committed to interdisciplinary research. The university encourages faculty, researchers, and students from diverse fields to share ideas, methods, and experience in collaborative initiatives that break through the restrictive barriers of traditional scientific disciplines.
To ensure that new research progress is readily applied in industry and high technology entrepreneurship, OIST works closely with the Okinawa Prefectural Government and industry to develop a self-sustaining, high technology economy on the island. Due to OIST, Okinawa is becoming recognized as a center for excellence in Science and Technology.
Academic Dress
Academic dress is part of a tradition spanning a thousand years of history, connecting us to the first universities in Europe. Originally the daily dress worn by students and professors alike, their use more recently has been restricted to formal occasions of the university.
The OIST academic dress was designed entirely by the students, and follows the red, white and black of the OIST colors. The hood, worn only by OIST PhD graduates, features a local textile, called Yuntanza Minsa using "Guushi-Bana" method, again in red, white and black. The design of the hood combines local auspicious patterns for luck in money and life, and stylized sine waves representing the sciences.
The hoods were generously hand-woven from locally hand-dyed cotton from Yuntanza Hanaui, a craft weavers guild from Yomitan, and we thank them for their wonderful contribution.
Program
2:00pm – 4:00pm Friday, 19th May 2023
OIST Auditorium
13:30
- Auditorium Doors Open
14:00
- Musical Introduction and Academic Procession
14:15
- Welcome by Dr. Albrecht Wagner, Acting President of OIST Graduate University
14:25
- Address by the Okinawa Prefectural Government
14:30
- Address by the Cabinet Office
14:35
- Commencement Address by Dr. Karin Markides, President-Elect of OIST Graduate University
14:55
- Conferment of PhD Degrees, Introduced by Prof. Thomas Busch, Dean of the Graduate School
15:40
- Peter Gruss Doctoral Dissertation Excellence Award
15:50
- Graduating Student Speech
15:55
- Closing Remark
Music Finale and Academic Processions
Close
Commencement Speaker
Dr. Karin Markides
President-Elect, OIST Graduate University
Dr. Karin Markides earned her doctorate degree from University of Stockholm in Sweden and specializes in analytical chemistry. As a researcher, she has filed and registered numerous patents, including "Novel Liquid Crystalline Compounds and Polymers," "Chiral Polysiloxane Compounds and Polymers," and “Encapsulated Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery,” published 289 peer-reviewed papers, and delivered over 500 presentations to academia and general public.
After serving as President and CEO of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden as well as American University of Armenia, she was elected for President and CEO of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in February 2023 to assume the post on June 1, 2023.
Dr. Markides is appointed Professor Emeriti of Analytical Chemistry at Uppsala University as well as Elected Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA), where she has been involved in the selection of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the promotion of science for society, schools, and academia.
Speaker
Dr. Agneesh Barua
Agneesh, a native of Kolkata, India, earned his Bachelor's degree in Zoology (Honours) from Delhi University before pursuing a Master's in Genetics at Calcutta University. With a keen interest in fundamental research, Agneesh embarked on an internship at OIST in January 2016. Later that year, he enrolled in OIST's PhD program to further his research.
Agneesh’s main research focus at OIST was trying to understand how complex traits evolve. Utilising snake venom as his model system, he made significant contributions to the understanding of venom evolution and the broader field of complex trait evolution. Agneesh's innovative methods and theories have been successfully replicated in various animal systems, validating his approach and insights on evolution.
Toward the end of his PhD program, Professor Vincent Laudet assumed the role of Agneesh's supervisor. It was at this time Agneesh designed a project investigating metamorphosis in teleosts and its connection to the development of phenotypic traits. This project garnered funding recommendations from the Human Frontier Science Programme (HFSP) and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). Agneesh now holds a prestigious position as an HFSP long-term fellow at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
Graduates
Ratnesh Kumar Gupta
Supervisor:
Professor Sile Nic ChormaicResearch Unit:
Light-Matter Interactions for Quantum Technologies UnitThesis:
Evanescent Field Mediated Interactions of Cold Rubidium Atoms with Optical Nanofiber Guided Light
Makoto Tokoro Schreiber
Supervisor:
Professor Matthias WolfResearch Unit:
Molecular Cryo-Electron Microscopy UnitThesis:
Diffraction-Based Experiments in Transmission Electron Microscopy: Lensing, Charging, and Amorphous Structures
Agneesh Barua
Supervisor:
Professor Vincent LaudetResearch Unit:
Marine Eco-Evo-Devo UnitThesis:
The Evolutionary Genetics of Venoms: How Nature Created the Perfect Chemical Weapon
Shan Zou
Supervisor:
Professor Denis KonstantinovResearch Unit:
Quantum Dynamics UnitThesis:
Detection of the Rydberg States of Electrons on Superfluid Helium Confined in Microchannel Devices
Alexandru Mihai
Supervisor:
Professor Eliot FriedResearch Unit:
Mechanics and Materials UnitThesis:
Soap Film Mediated 3D Self-Assembly: Suspended and Displacement Driven Geometries Using Centimeter-Scale Tiles
Dmitrii Koldaev
Supervisor:
Professor Eliot FriedResearch Unit:
Mechanics and Materials UnitThesis:
Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Analysis of Unstretchable Elastic Ribbons
Tim Keller
Supervisor:
Professor Thomas BuschResearch Unit:
Quantum Systems UnitThesis:
Controlling Superfluid and Insulating States in Interacting Quantum Gases
Saahil Acharya
Supervisor:
Professor Akihiro KusumiResearch Unit:
Membrane Cooperativity UnitThesis:
SynGAP Condensates Recruit PSD95, and Selectively Retain Multivalent Receptors, Functioning as the Basic Platform for Generating Neuronal Excitatory Synapses
Takeshi Ricardo Tabuchi Yagui
Supervisor:
Professor Yohei YokobayashiResearch Unit:
Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Engineering UnitThesis:
High-Throughput Screening of Cell-Free Riboswitches for Chemical Communication between Microdroplets
Dongqi Han
Supervisor:
Professor Jun TaniCo-supervisor:
Professor Kenji DoyaResearch Unit:
Cognitive Neurorobotics Research UnitThesis:
Self-Organization of Action Hierarchy and Inferring Latent States in Deep Reinforcement Learning with Stochastic Recurrent Neural Networks
Aliya Mari Purser
Supervisor:
Professor Izumi FukunagaResearch Unit:
Sensory and Behavioural Neuroscience UnitThesis:
Designing a Tractable Behavioral Paradigm for Investigating Olfactory Figure-ground Segregation
Sofiia Kosar
Supervisor:
Professor Keshav DaniResearch Unit:
Femtosecond Spectroscopy UnitThesis:
Characterization of Nanoscale Defects in Hybrid Perovskite Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications
Christine Joy Guzman
Supervisor:
Professor Hiroshi WatanabeResearch Unit:
Evolutionary Neurobiology UnitThesis:
Investigating the Role of Neurexins in the Early Evolution of the Nervous System
Mizuki Kato
Supervisor:
Professor Erik De SchutterResearch Unit:
Computational Neuroscience UnitThesis:
A Computational Model of Granule Cell Migration and Purkinje Cell Primary Dendrite Selection during Cerebellar Development
Ainash Garifullina
Supervisor:
Professor Amy ShenResearch Unit:
Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics UnitThesis:
Estimating Protein-Protein Interactions with High Aspect Ratio Plasmonic Nanopillars
San To Chan
Supervisor:
Professor Amy ShenResearch Unit:
Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics UnitThesis:
Torsional Instability of Rheologically Complex Liquid Bridges
Maki Kohata Thomas
Supervisor:
Professor Satoshi MitaraiResearch Unit:
Marine Biophysics UnitThesis:
Role of Island Systems in Mangrove Biogeography
Manana Kutsia
Supervisor:
Professor Ichiro MasaiResearch Unit:
Developmental Neurobiology UnitThesis:
Single cell transcriptome analysis reveals heterogeneity and a dynamic regenerative response of quiescent radial glia in zebrafish adult brain
Kimberly Remund
Supervisor:
Professor Nic ShannonResearch Unit:
Theory of Quantum Matter UnitThesis:
Spin–1 Magnets and Their Excitations
Lewis Ruks
Supervisor:
Professor Thomas BuschCo-supervisor:
Professor Sile Nic ChormaicResearch Unit:
Quantum Systems UnitThesis:
Wave Propagation and Light-Matter Interactions in Optical Nanofibers and Discrete Media
Mohamed Atwa
Supervisor:
Professor Yoshinori OkadaResearch Unit:
Quantum Materials Science UnitThesis:
Doping Evolution of Magneto-Transport Properties in the Layered Magnetic Semimetal Cr(1+δ)Te2
Christopher Campbell
Supervisor:
Professor Thomas BuschResearch Unit:
Quantum Systems UnitThesis:
Supersymmetry and Nonequilibrium Quantum Dynamics
Aleksandra Bliznina
Supervisor:
Professor Nicholas LuscombeResearch Unit:
Genomics and Regulatory Systems UnitThesis:
Cross-genome Comparison of Global Oikopleura dioica Populations
Qiong Huang
Supervisor:
Professor Kenji DoyaResearch Unit:
Neural Computation UnitThesis:
Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Distributed Solar-Battery Energy Systems
Friederike Metz
Supervisor:
Professor Thomas BuschResearch Unit:
Quantum Systems UnitThesis:
Machine Learning Applications for the Study and Control of Quantum Systems
Yuna Hattori
Supervisor:
Professor Pinaki ChakrabortyResearch Unit:
Fluid Mechanics UnitThesis:
Self-similarity in a Boundary-layer Flow over a Dynamic Boundary: Flow of Air Induced by a Falling Soap Film
Tsung-Yen Huang
Supervisor:
Professor Hiroki IshikawaResearch Unit:
Immune Signal UnitThesis:
Phosphoenolpyruvate Regulates the JunB-Dependent Pathogenic Th17 Transcriptional Program
Stefano Pascarelli
Supervisor:
Professor Paola LaurinoResearch Unit:
Protein Engineering and Evolution UnitThesis:
Protein Sequence, Structure, and Dynamics Reveal Insights in the Divergence of Protein Functions
Nadine Wirkuttis
Supervisor:
Professor Jun TaniResearch Unit:
Cognitive Neurorobotics Research UnitThesis:
Social Interaction Under the Free Energy Principle: A Cognitive Robotics Approach