Program

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* Schedule subject to change

Monday, September 8

Tuesday, September 9

Wednesday, September 10

Thursday, September 11

Friday, September 12

September 8 (Monday)

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09:00-09:30

Registration

09:30-09:45

Opening remarks

Toshiaki YOSHIOKA (Dean, Professor, GSES, Tohoku University, Japan)

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09:45-11:15

Invited speaker 1

1. Thallada Bhaskar (Ph.D., Director, CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR-AMPRI), India）

"Sustainable approaches for the valorization of natural and synthetic polymeric waste"

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• The increasing concerns over the depletion of fossil resources and their associated geopolitical issues have driven the entire world to move towards sustainable forms of energy and hydrocarbons. Researchers all over the world are trying to develop technologies that utilize natural and synthetic polymeric resources, as they do not cause climate change problems to produce energy, if treated with scientifically sound processes. Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal energy, etc., can be used to produce power/ electricity, but the organic carbon required to produce liquid hydrocarbons cannot be obtained from the above. Biomass is the only renewable and sustainable source of organic carbon, which can be obtained from any living or recently living biological material. Lignocellulosic biomass, which is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin does not create any food vs fuel issue and is obtained from agricultural residues, forest residues or energy crops grown specifically for biofuel/biochemical/biomaterials production in addition to natural polymer, synthetic polymers like waste plastics from process, industrial, municipal or e-waste can also be effectively converted into value added hydrocarbons using several thermo-chemical methods of conversion. This would help in the development of environment-friendly technologies using the ever-growing waste available all around the globe. The future of such processes utilising biomass/ plastics is directly linked to the maximum use of by-products that will make their production more cost-effective. The presentation will cover the circular bioeconomy approaches (biochar for the soils, use the biooils as snake repellants, insecticides, and veterinary applications) connected with SDGs will provide an excellent pathway for the long-term benefits, while providing healthy food, feed and materials sustainably by replacing the conventional fossil-based hydrocarbons, in addition to energy applications.

11:15-12:15

Open discussion/Panel discussion/Student Activity

12:15-13:30

Lunch break

13:30-15:00

Invited Speaker 2

1. Kazuya ISHITSUKA (Specific Professor, Kyoto University, Japan）

"AI utilization in geothermal resource exploration: current trends and future perspectives"

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• The use of geothermal energy is an urgent issue to meet increasing energy demand and achieve a carbon-neutral society. Geothermal development requires an understanding of subsurface conditions, thus advances in geothermal resource exploration are crucial. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that potentially accelerates our scientific understanding and innovation. This advancement in AI could be effectively utilized in geothermal resource exploration. In geothermal resource exploration, it is generally desirable to estimate subsurface conditions based on limited amount of data and evaluate its energy potential by integrating various types of observations. These issues cannot be resolved simply by applying existing AI considering a large dataset but require original methods that make effective use of domain knowledge. Neural networks that train constitutive laws as well as field observations is one of the promising examples. This lecture will provide how machine learning techniques have evolved in geothermal exploration and explore the potential applications to other research fields and future perspectives.

15:00-15:15

Break time

15:15-16:15

Workshop

September 9 (Tuesday)

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1-day field work to Higashi Matsushima: tba (to be informed to the participants)

September 10 (Wednesday)

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Free work day, co-research meeting, etc.

September 11 (Thursday)

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09:00-09:30

Registration

09:30-11:00

Invited speaker 3

YAN Wanglin (Professor, Keio University, Japan)

"The Emerging of GeoAI from Geospatial Information to Geospatiotemporal Intelligence"

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• GIS has rapidly developed from a professional mapping technology to the frontier of multi-disciplinary geospatial science and industrial innovations. It has benefited significantly from the advancement of AI, particularly through the integration of sophisticated AI algorithms into geospatial processing. GeoAI is an emerging interdisciplinary field at the intersection of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Geospatiotemporal Big Data (GBD). This convergence presents valuable opportunities for GIS to lead AI innovation. It also challenges GIS researchers and users from receivers of established GI services to learners and teachers of Geospatiotemporal intelligence for contributing to solving complex global challenges. This session will lecture the core technologies of this cutting-edge field along with advanced applications in various situations. The following session will be an open floor discussion with students for exploring potentials and pitfalls of GeoAI in research projects and future development.

11:00-11:10

Break time

11:10-12:10

Open discussion/Panel discussion/Student Activity

12:10-13:00

Lunch break

13:00-14:30

Invited speaker 4

* Schedule subject to change

ZHANG Tuo (Assistant Professor, GSES, Tohoku University, Japan)

"Estimating Electricity Demand at High Temporal Resolution for Power System Models Using Machine Learning Algorithms"

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• High spatiotemporal resolution estimates of electricity demand and renewable energy generation are essential for accurate energy system modelling and reliable operational decision‑making. Traditional approaches—such as linear interpolation, bottom‑up engineering methods, or generalized statistical models—often struggle to capture complex, nonlinear dependencies in large, heterogeneous datasets. Machine learning overcomes these limitations by leveraging big data and advanced algorithms (e.g., Random Forest, deep neural networks) to automatically learn intricate patterns across time and space, integrate diverse contextual features, and provide interpretable insights through techniques like feature importance. Compared to conventional methods, ML‑based estimators consistently achieve higher accuracy and robustness in both retrospective load reconstruction and resource potential assessment. In this course, we will first review the motivation and challenges of high‑resolution energy demand and supply estimation, then contrast traditional and ML‑driven methodologies, and finally discuss representative case studies that demonstrate the practical advantages of machine learning in environmental and power system applications.

14:30-14:45

Break time

14:45-16:15

Invited speaker 5

* Schedule subject to change

Masaru YARIME (Associate Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong)

"Exploring Data-Driven Innovation for Sustainability: Opportunities and Challenges in Public Policy and Governance"

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• Data-driven innovation has the potential to address pressing sustainability challenges, including reducing air pollution, enhancing energy efficiency, promoting reuse and recycling, and strengthening resilience to natural disasters. In smart cities, an array of data is now increasingly accessible through advanced equipment and infrastructure in housing, transport, and other areas. Benefiting from data sharing and use to innovate remains a significant challenge in tackling these challenges. Enterprises may refuse to share or exchange data, hindering further progress. The general public has significant concerns about data security and privacy, particularly regarding sensitive personal information. Effective systems for data governance are crucial in enabling the collection, sharing, and utilization of data for innovative purposes, while ensuring that societal issues related to privacy and data security in smart cities are addressed. In this seminar, we examine the current state of data collection, sharing, and use in smart cities, as well as the impact of institutional structures on data governance, innovation, and data security and privacy. Policy implications are explored for establishing data governance that will facilitate innovation to address sustainability issues while addressing societal concerns.

16:15-16:30

Break time

16:30-17:30

Open discussion/Panel discussion/Student Activity

September 12 (Friday)

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09:00-09:30

Registration

09:30-11:00

Invited speaker 6

Ajay Kalamdhad (Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India)

"Waste to Wealth: A Comprehensive Study on Biogas in India"

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• Fossil fuels and other conventional energy sources are scarce and harmful to the environment. Thus, the only option for achieving sustainable growth is to use renewable energy. Among the different alternative energy sources accessible, biomass-based energy is one of the most affordable while simultaneously tackling the pressing issues related to the management of waste. Estimating the potential is essential to making the most of the biomass. State-by-state biomass databases are useful for implementing regional bioenergy policies. A biomass resource database at the state level does not exist in India, though. The potential for producing biogas at the state level from a variety of sources, such as crop residues, animal and poultry wastes, municipal solid wastes, and wastewater (both industrial and sewage) was evaluated. India's potential for producing biogas from organic waste is estimated to be 74795 million m3 per year. In India, digesters capable of producing 3635 million m3 per year are now operational. This demonstrates the enormous disparity between potential and actual use. Although it is believed that biogas plants are environmentally benign, the frequent leaks and purposeful releases of biogas from badly maintained digesters raise doubts about any potential environmental advantages. It was determined how important biogas is as a fuel for energy, cooking, and bio-CNG. According to the research, biogas generation can cut India's household cooking emissions by 1/5th. It also shows that biogas-derived power and bio-CNG produce fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) across their value chain than other fuels. However, there remain obstacles to the widespread use of large-scale biogas facilities, both technological and non-technical. Therefore, for the deployment of a large-scale biogas plant in India to be successful, multiple mitigating strategies must be developed. The rise of bioenergy generation will be accelerated by the successful installation of biogas facilities, which will also address urgent waste management challenges.
  Keywords: Biogas, Biomass, Bio-CNG, anaerobic digestion, Organic waste

11:00-11:10

Break time

11:10-12:10

Open discussion/Panel discussion/Student Activity

12:10-13:30

Lunch break

13:30-15:00

Invited speaker 7

Shun MUROGA (Senior Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan)

"Sustainable Materials and Process Innovation Driven by AI and Digital Transformation"

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• With the rapid advancement of data science and artificial intelligence technologies, our approach to research and development has drastically changed compared to just a few years ago. The very notion of what only humans can do is evolving day by day.
  In this talk, I will introduce recent developments and trends in the application of data science to materials and process research. The presentation will cover both the "cyber" aspect—including fundamental analysis, machine learning, deep learning, generative models, multimodal deep learning, and large language models—and the "physical" aspect, such as automation and autonomous experimentation.
  Through various examples, we will explore how data science is reshaping the way we conduct materials and process research, and discuss its implications for creating a more sustainable future. Beyond technical applications, these topics also invite us to reflect on the role of humans in a rapidly evolving society—what we should value, how we should think, and how we can actively engage in addressing the complex challenges our society faces.

15:00-15:15

Break time

15:15-16:15

Student Activity/Panel discussion/Open discussion

16:15-16:30

Closing remarks

Takuro KOBASHI (GSES Summer School Head, Associate Professor, GSES, Tohoku University, Japan)

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16:30-17:30

Social gathering