Our research uses modeling and satellite observation data to get a better structural understanding of cloud life cycles, and advance the understanding of two keys to global warming: the dynamic state of clouds and aerosols. This year we have succeeded in creating both a cloud evolution simulation and virtual satellite observation, and have confirmed their compliance to actual satellite observation data. As a result, we have gained a clearer picture of the cloud growth process with actual cloud properties from satellite data.

We are conducting research into a thermoacoustic engines. A thermoacoustic engine holds the following characteristics;
1. No moving parts such as pistons and turbines are required.
2. High-efficiency energy conversion (higher than 30%) is possible.
3. It is low-cost and can be produced in large quantities due to its simple configuration consisting only of pipes.
4. It can realize high-efficiency electrical generation and refrigeration systems that utilize multiple heat sources such as industrial waste heat, exhausted heat from vehicles and solar energy.

We are developing a new purification system to treat wastewater containing nitrate ions. In this method, nitrate ions are reduced by hydrogen to harmless nitrogen gas over metal-supported catalysts. We have developed a catalyst that removes high concentrations of nitrate ions as nitrogen gas with a high removal rate through investigation of kinds of support, composition of active metals and pre-processing conditions of catalysts. In addition, we also researched the effect of coexistent components in wastewater on removal rate and selectivity of products.