Daniel Ayala and Dr. Namazu Receive the JSME Best Presentation Award

Daniel Saldivar Ayala, a second-year master’s course student at the Graduate School of Engineering, and Takahiro Namazu, a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, have received the Best Presentation Paper Award from the Micro-Nano Science & Engineering Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) for their presentation entitled “Mechano-chromic behavior of liquid photonic crystals” This award recognizes all co-authors listed on papers with outstanding research topics and achievements among those presented at conferences and symposia organized by the JSME Micro-Nano Science & Engineering Division. Following a presentation at the 2024 JSME Annual Meeting their research achievements were very positively evaluated which culminated in their award.

Under Professor Takahiro Namazu’s supervision, Daniel is researching structural color using silica nanoparticles. Structural color is known as the coloring principle of morpho butterflies and chameleons, which is a phenomenon in which objects that are uncolored themselves can be colored by deforming nanostructures that are periodically arranged at approximately the wavelength of light. He manufactured a glass chip sensor containing silica nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 200 nm arranged in a face-centered cubic structure. He succeeded in expressing the out-of-plane deformation of the glass surface caused by applying external mechanical load as a distribution of structural color. By applying this technology, it may be possible to detect extremely small deformations that are invisible to our naked eyes as changes in color, making it possible to visualize deformation and deterioration of buildings.

Daniel said, “It is a great honor for our research results to be recognized by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. It was difficult for us to pursue new research, but now we feel proud to have worked so hard”. Professor Namazu added, “This award is solely the result of the great efforts of Daniel. I am so happy that our excellent students like Daniel, who work diligently on their research activities every day, have been recognized”.

Professor Hiroshi Kawakami, Faculty of Engineering