The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA)

The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA) was established in 2010 as a unique interdisciplinary research institute. Its members are selected from three faculties at OCU: the faculties of Science, Engineering, and Human Life Sciences. OCARINA aims to assimilate and unite the knowledge accumulated by the scientists in these faculties to find solutions for urban environmental and global crises that the world is facing at this moment, such as shortage of energy and water resources, food production, global warming. We think it essential to strengthen the collaboration among researchers of different fields, and only through combined research can we expect to find solutions for any of these urgent issues.

OCARINA consists of three research teams, each working on a specific field of research:

• Team A: Development and Industrial Application of the Next Generation Energy Resources
• Team B: Utilization of Groundwater for the Preservation of Urban Environment and for the Prevention against Geo-hazard
• Team C: Space and Time Evolution of the Environment and Biological Systems in the Urban Area

In April 2011 Nature published the groundbreaking research results on photosynthesis by one of the research groups. Read more here:
URL: http://www.osaka-cu.ac.jp/english/news/20110510090001/event.html