Activities/Event Report
Event Report
WaSC Inaugural Workshop
On October 19, 2026, Waseda Space Commons (WaSC) held its inaugural workshop at Building 63 on the Nishi-Waseda Campus, welcoming 78 participants from inside and outside the university. Please see the program for details.
Following opening remarks by Director Tetsuya SATOU and congratulatory addresses from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Waseda University, keynote lectures were delivered by Prof. Emeritus Kazuyuki HIROSE (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA) and Mr. Osamu SHINOBE (Honorary Advisor, ANA Holdings Inc.).
Twelve Waseda researchers then introduced their work, covering topics from small satellite development, galaxy formation, and supermassive black holes to medical imaging, commercial space stations, Japan–Korea space cooperation, astronaut cognition, how space is discussed in society, atmospheric observation from the summit of Mt. Fuji, the ocean's role in climate, air-breathing engines for spaceplanes, and joining technologies for extreme environments. Bringing such diverse fields together under the shared theme of space, the talks underscored once again the interdisciplinary nature of space research.
The day closed with a networking reception. Bringing together researchers from different faculties and fields to learn about one another's work embodied WaSC's very starting point: creating a place where researchers can come together and talk. We will continue to serve as a place where new research projects are discovered and nurtured through dialogue across disciplines.
