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From left: Prof. Tetsuya Sakurai, Executive Research Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (C-AIR), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Dr. Larry A Nagahara, Vice Dean for Research and Translation, Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering; Dr. Tadashi Kadowaki, Fellow, AIST; Dr. Nii Attoh-Okine, Chair and Professor, UMD Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. |
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Co-operation in the field of quantum machine learning between University of Maryland (UMD) researchers and colleagues in Japan continues to gain momentum, with the chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor Nii Attoh-Okine, paying a nearly two-week-long visit to the East Asian nation in February.
During his stay, Attoh-Okine met and collaborated with researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s (AIST) Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology, a center working to advance the field and harness its economic value.
Together, Attoh-Okine and his Japanese colleagues explored a hybrid computing infrastructure that integrates multiple Quantum Processing Units into a Graphic Processing Unit-based supercomputer, which is designed to support the exploration of diverse real-world use cases.
He collaborated and interacted with researchers who are utilizing the Fujitsu quantum computer system to investigate problems related to transportation and critical infrastructure. Planned follow-up research will be aimed at creating additional quantum use cases and applications, including in areas such as sensing, structural engineering, and materials.
This visit was a follow-up to one that took place a year previously, when Professor Attoh-Okine participated in the 2025 Japan-United States Digital Innovation Hub.
During his prior trip, Attoh-Okine met with University of Tohoku Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi, Specially Appointed Professor Yoichiro Tanaka (International Collaboration Department), Specially Appointed Professor Ayumi Tateda (Engineering/Information and Intelligent Systems Center, Co-Creation Strategy Center), and Professor Hiroyasu Ando (Advanced Institute for Materials Research).
His meetings with educators, researchers, and industry-academia collaborators has led to several joint initiatives in the fields of quantum science and smart cities, and other railway track safety applications.
April 20, 2026
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